"Chuaaa!"

"Voir…"

Pikachu and Gardevoir stood ready for battle, the former unleashing cracks of electricity around himself in excitement, the latter with her eyes narrowed and steady as she seemed to calculate her opponent's strength. Behind them, their trainers observed each other's Pokémon and tried to assess their respective strengths.

"Hey, Max!" Ash called out to his friend. "Where'd you get that Gardevoir from?!"

Max grinned and pushed up his glasses. "You don't know? Maybe a Ralts with a fever would ring a bell?"

From his spot in between the two combatants, Brock's eyes widened (as much as they could, anyway) once he heard Max, and turned to the boy's sister, who stood nearby. "Wait, you mean, that's the same little Ralts he promised to…"

"The very same," May nodded with a smile. "His first Pokémon, too. The day he got his Trainer's License, first thing he did was make me take him to the very forest he said he'd come back for her…"

"Yeah, now that sounds pretty familiar!" Ash replied to Max, managing to catch May's comment. "And it seems to me that you've trained it well. So I hope it won't upset you that I'm not going to hold back!"

"Ha! Are you kidding?!" Max scoffed. "I'm only gonna accept your best!"

"That's what I like to hear…" Ash smirked before he called out a command to Pikachu…

"The able-bodied fighters are currently preoccupied with what appears to be a battle between the main twerp and the nerdy twerp."

"A number of weaker Pokémon surround the vicinity. Individually, they are of little concern. The only potential risk is if they gather their forces, a possibility we are more than prepared to mitigate."

"We now await orders, Administrator."

"Well done. Proceed with the operation as planned. As soon as the objective is completed, return to headquarters."

"Yes, ma'am!" The wickedly long-haired red-head, light-blue haired, and motherfucking Meowth chorused to the fourth voice on the other line of their communicator. After the line cut off, two members of the trio began to quietly dance with glee, although the other did not seem nearly as enthusiastic.

"7 years of hard work and the best results anyone in Team Rocket could come up with, and the boss finally makes us his direct agents!" Jessie squealed. "And for an assignment so vital for the organization, too!"

"Just picture what we can do for 'im…" Meowth mused as he entered one of his trademark Boss Fantasies. "The boss is up against the whole wide wo'i'ld, just 'im, and us, and the other mooks in the team. And for a bit, it looks pretty bad. The other side's got the local fuzz! And the international fuzz! And the army! The navy! The air force!" The feline cleared his throat and put on his best Giovanni impression. " 'Boy, they all look pretty tough! I ain't got no chance of beating these monsta's! Not without the hard work of Meowth and those other two guys!' "

"Jessie and those other two guys," Jessie corrected.

"And then," Meowth went on, ignoring her, "with a snap of 'is finga's, our whole armada of Pokémon, the powerful, the legendary, the mythical, rise up and blast all 'em do-gooders to high hell!"

"Hooray! We win big!" the two cheered in unison.

"Oi, James," Meowth nudged the other member of their group. "Y'know, you was supposed to join in all dat."

James glanced at his companions; hesitation written all over his face.

"And what's the matter with YOU, mister?" Jessie pointed accusingly at him. "You do realize that this is quite possibly one of the highest honors that has ever been bestowed on us? Even bigger than our mission in Unova?"

James seemed to contemplate her words for a moment, but sighed and shook his head. "Yes, but… Considering what the task at hand will ultimately contribute to…" He ran his hand through his hair. "… Is this really okay?"

Jessie and Meowth looked at each other with a hint of worry. True, they were quite surprised when they were told the overall objective that this assignment was part of – it was bigger and badder than anything Giovanni had ever ordered. The only thing that came close to this was when their leader tried to destroy the entirety of Unova, and even that was under the influence of the Reveal Glass from that incident with the Forces of Nature and that blasted Meloetta. But now…

"The boss is completely in contro'i'l of his desires," Meowth finally spoke up. "And I'm more than happy to obey a cool boss than a crazy one! And hey, y'know what they say! We're only followin' orders!"

"And besides," Jessie added, "this is more or less what we signed up for! You always say it, James! 'To extend our reaches to the stars above!' It's what we always wanted in the end!"

"But it's not just a matter of Team Rocket trying to take over the world!" James protested. "The boss really won't hesitate to—"

"'Ey, save your breath!" an irritated Meowth interrupted. "The battle's 'bout to begin! And we're goin' to carry out this mission, whether you like it or not!" The Scratch Cat Pokémon turned to Jessie, who nodded. As the two began to scurry over to the laboratory behind the spectators' backs, James stayed back for a few moments. He watched as his friends snuck away, hesitating to follow. In the end, however, he relented and followed after them. Maybe they were right, in a way… besides, if he backed out now, his only other option would be going back home to marry that unbearable Jessebelle…

"Pikachu! Electro Ball, let's go!"

"Chu!" At his trainer's command, Pikachu let the electricity it had been storing up to this point transfer over to the tip of his tail. Leaping into the air, the mouse's tail formed a dark yellow ball, a bit larger than himself, crackling with sparks of electricity. Pikachu lined himself up with the Gardevoir down below, before hurling the orb at her.

But Max had other plans. "Teleport, Gardevoir!" Although the Electro Ball raced through the air at breakneck speed, it still could not catch its target, whose body flashed white before she suddenly disappeared, making the attack crash into the ground and form a small crater riddled with sparks.

"Huh. It's fast," Ash remarked with a smile.

"It doesn't matter how fast Pikachu is, Ash!" Max declared. "No one can catch Gardevoir when she teleports! And no one can see her coming, either! Hypnosis!"

"We don't need to see. Pikachu, you hear her?"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried in confirmation, his ears twitching to the left. Though he was still airborne, he managed to twist himself to evade the red waves that emitted from the now-visible Gardevoir's eyes. The two Pokémon landed, staring each other down.

"Tch! Leave it to you to be unorthodox…" Max grumbled. "Well, you won't be able to dodge Dazzling Gleam!"

"Voir…!" A rainbow-colored light shone brightly from Gardevoir's body, temporarily blinding Pikachu, Ash, and everyone else in the vicinity. As the light grew, it shot out at Pikachu, its intensity still too much for him to see it coming…

"We don't need to dodge, either!" Ash exclaimed. "Electroweb!"

"Chuuuuu!" Another orb of electricity formed at Pikachu's tail – he flung it a few feet in the air, and it exploded into a circular web that fell down upon himself. Enshrouded in it, Pikachu let the Dazzling Gleam hit him, and as the light faded, everyone could see that his makeshift armor protected him from most of the damage.

Max growled, "Again, way to be unorthodox…"

"I didn't know you could use Electroweb like that…" Lillie, clad in her usual white dress, softly commented.

"That's Ash for you," Goh replied, his Cinderace nodding behind him. "Crazy and unpredictable as always!"

"But," Max started, a smirk planting itself on his face, "now you can't move out of there, either! Gardevoir, hit him with Psychic!" Gardevoir's eyes glowed an eerie light blue, and she held out her hand, about to channel her psychic energy at the seemingly trapped rodent…

"Volt Tackle!" Ash commanded.

"Piiikaaa…!" A golden electric aura spread around Pikachu, and as it covered his yellow body, it gave off the illusion of Pikachu being colored black and white. Ash grinned as he saw the Electroweb being absorbed into Pikachu's aura, making it bigger and more intense than normal.

"Huh!? Crap!" Max panicked. "Hurry, Gardevo—"

Getting on all fours, Pikachu charged his opponent. "Pikapikapikapikapikapika…!" An electric trail sizzled behind him, and the sheer intensity that he let off startled Gardevoir, who was already taken aback at the massive burst in speed that Pikachu gained. Not even her eyes could keep up, and her Psychic attack missed its mark, an invisible force striking the ground behind Pikachu.

"PIKA!" Pikachu slammed into Gardevoir, sending her flying across the battlefield and down to her knees. As Pikachu bounced back from the attack, he panted slightly from the recoil damage, but otherwise seemed as fired up as ever.

"I thought I taught ya, Max!" Ash called. "Never assume in a battle!"

Max scowled slightly, but the excitement of the battle quickly caught up to him, and his frown was turned upside down. "Right back at you!"

"Pika…" Pikachu winced in pain; it seemed like recoil wasn't the only damage he received.

"Huh? Pikachu, what's the matter?!" Ash exclaimed in worry.

"Huuuh?!" Bonnie clamored from the sidelines. "How did Pikachu get hurt?! It hasn't even gotten hit!"

"Did…did one of Gardevoir's psychic attacks hit?" Serena chimed in.

"A possibility, yes." Professor Oak suddenly joined in, and all eyes turned to the resident Pokémon expert. "But the answer is actually in plain sight, if you look closely…"

Tracey squinted his eyes, attempting to pick out some minute detail on Pikachu. He noticed a small, blue barb sticking on the top of the Pokémon's head, and it hit him. "A Sticky Barb!" Tracey pointed out. "It must have attached itself to Pikachu after that Volt Tackle!"

"Well, whaddya know…" Ash mused aloud. "Never would've guessed it. Gardevoir didn't seem to mind it when she was stuck with it!"

Max rubbed his nose in victory. "Ha! It was actually Gardevoir's idea to begin with!"

"Her idea?"

"Yep! When she was just a Ralts, she found the Sticky Barb lying around one day, but of course I stopped her before she touched it. Admittedly, I was freaking out, seeing how she was about to hurt herself, and I had to explain what exactly it was." He pointed proudly to the gown-wearing Pokémon, who seemed to blush at her master's words. "But little did I think she'd be able to handle it! Next day, she comes running over to me, all scratched up, but still standing with the Sticky Barb on hand! She worked all night just to learn how to hide the discomfort, all to make me happy…"

"Awww…" some of the girls (and Brock) cooed.

'That's abusive,' some of the guys thought.

'Man, I really gotta shit, but I'm not gonna until this battle ends,' Clemont promised himself.

Max and Gardevoir stood proudly, basking in the results of their training – a perfect opportunity to strike.

"Quick Attack!"

"Wait wh—"

In a flash, Pikachu slammed himself into Gardevoir once more – to the well-trained eye, one could see that the Sticky Barb also reattached itself to the Psychic-type. Pikachu bounced back, dusting himself off after landing.

"You let yourself get distracted, Max!" Ash chastised, although he was mostly joking. "It's not over 'til it's over!"

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me…" Max grumbled. "Man, now my whole speech feels kinda stupid… Disarming Voice!" he suddenly added the attack, the word "speech" reminding him of the move.

Gardevoir quickly recovered from Pikachu's sudden attack and proceeded to channel her energy into the back of her throat. She then let out a beautifully tuned "Voir…" and heart-shaped sound-waves emitted from her mouth, hitting Pikachu head-on and causing him to stumble and fall onto his back.

"Nice job, Gardevoir!" Max cheered. "Now hit him with Knock Off!"

Gardevoir surrounded her right hand in black sparks and ran towards Pikachu (although due to her dress-like appendages, it looked more like she was flying). When she was only a few feet away, she lifted her hand, preparing to strike down at the downed Pokémon.

Exactly what Ash wanted. "Iron Tail!" At his friend's command, Pikachu used his arms to lift himself off the ground and flip in the air. As Gardevoir's attack missed, Max could only watch in horror as Pikachu's tail became clad in something akin to metal armor, the sun's light harshly reflecting off of it.

"Crap! Quick, Gardevoir! Hurry and dodg—"

"Pi-KA!" Pikachu slammed his Iron Tail down onto Gardevoir's back, sending her to the ground with a loud THUMP. She lay there for a few seconds, Pikachu rebounding from the impact and landing back on its feet in the meantime.

"Gardevoir! Please, get up!"

"Voir…" Gardevoir heard her master's plea, and attempted to lift herself up to continue the battle… only to ultimately collapse back down, her eyes now dizzily spiraling in exhaustion.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle!" Brock declared. He held an arm out toward Ash and Pikachu. "This makes Ash and his Pikachu the winners!"

A round of applause erupted from the audience, shouts of "Great fight!" and "So cool!" and even one "That's our champ!" chorusing from them.

"Awesome, Max!" May cheered for her brother. "You even gave a champion some trouble!"

"Yeah, I guess that kid ain't too shabby," Sophocles put his two cents in. "Crafty guy, he is!"

'It's toilet time,' Clemont thought, turning around and about to hurry off to the nearest bathroom, only for Bonnie to hold him back.

"No, big bro!" Bonnie whined. "You have to stay until those two shake hands!"

"Wha—Bonnie, that was never a rule!" the elder sibling protested. "...Although I suppose it'd be a bit rude of me to leave Ash behind right after his victory…" he conceded. Although he internally complained, 'The only things that are shaking right now are my bowels.'

Max smiled sadly as he walked up to Gardevoir. "Good job, girl," he whispered as he returned his Pokémon back in her ball.

"And good job to you, too."

Max looked up and saw Ash and Pikachu smiling at him, the former offering his hand to him. "Awesome battle, Max! You really surprised me there with your strength."

Max averted his gaze. "Yeah, but it wasn't enough to really beat you…"

"That's what you're concerned about? C'mon, everyone felt how in-sync you and Gardevoir were. You really trained her well, dude."

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"You really think so?" Max asked skeptically.

"Heck yeah, I do! Yeah… I think I'm lookin' at my newest rival here."

Max looked shocked at how confident Ash sounded when he said that. 'He really thinks I'm good enough to be called that…?' the boy asked himself, mentally repeating what his senior just said, before beaming. "That's right! You better be careful!" He took the older trainer's hand and shook it, and the two grinned widely at each other. A good battle it was, indeed… and the start of a new goal for Max.

"As Gym Leader of the Celadon Gym, I accept your challenge! Go, Vileplume!"

"Pluuu!" Erika's Vileplume leaped out of its Pokéball and landed on the grass-covered floor of the gym. It seemed slightly larger than the one Red faced off against just a little while ago, and even its breathing looked more relaxed than the shudders of Marilyn's Vileplume – though that may be because unlike the store worker's, Erika's had nothing to be angry at. Wordlessly, Red tossed out his own Pokéball, Espeon jumping out of it and landing elegantly a couple meters in front of Vileplume.

As the battle was about to begin, the rest of the gym's occupants gathered around the combatants, most eager to see Erika put another trainer in their place. Even some of the other Pokémon ran over to the scene, much to the confusion of the Eevee who just moments ago was frolicking in the fields with its new friends. It turned to the direction everyone seemed to be going, and through the small gaps in between people, it could make out a lilac-colored creature sitting in front of something.

"Vee!" Eevee chirped excitedly – it recognized Espeon a grown member of its own kind, and eagerly ran over to get a closer look. However, as it grew nearer to the crowd, it could also make out a tall, rather intimidating human next to Espeon, and hiding behind him was… Johnny? Eevee stopped in its tracks, excitement quickly giving way to hesitation. What was that boy doing here…?

"This will be a 1-on-1 battle between the nature-loving princess Erika, and… uh… this guy!" A young woman dressed in green camping clothes announced as she stood in between the two trainers and their Pokémon. "Each trainer may only use their one selected Pokémon throughout the entirety of the match! No substitutions will be allowed! In addition, no items may be used on any Pokémon at any time during the battle, apart from an officially licensed Pokédex! This is in accordance with the Global Pokémon League Legislation #01011997, Article 5, Subsect—"

"Shut up already, we get it," a deep, irritated voice interrupted.

With the exception of Erika, all ladies turned to Red, faces contorted in rage at his rude behavior… but they still couldn't hide the blushes they formed upon hearing what they could describe as his "sexy" voice. The man in question rolled his eyes, inwardly cursing how annoying these women were, but also noting how different gym battles had become. So now there's a referee and a Pokémon limit, huh? And no items… well, he supposed that was all fair and good. It was an interesting twist, but he was willing to accept it.

"May you begin the battle, Sami?" Erika politely asked the referee.

"Wh—Oh, yes, my apologies!" the referee snapped out of it. "If our rather unpleasant guest has no more qualms…" Red only grunted in response. "… Let the battle begin!"

Vileplume narrowed its eyes at Espeon, getting into a battle stance – its back foot slightly raised and its front flat, and its stubby arms stretched behind it, like it was getting ready to charge. For his part, however, Espeon merely sat up straight, calmly observing his opponent's movement.

"Go Erika!"

"Show him who's boss!"

"Make him pay!"

"Roast the bastard until he burns!"

Even though he tried as hard as he could, Johnny was unable to ignore the shrieks in favor of Erika. He believed that Mr. Jack could win this battle, but with all the praise for the gym leader, he began to feel nervous. His new friend seemed to be the underdog here; but still, he still held a little bit of comfort seeing the trainer standing without even flinching at the disparaging remarks.

"Challenger, you may have the first move," Erika nodded to her opponent.

Red narrowed his eyes in response. 'Before any sort of move…' He reached into the right pocket of his red-and-white, short-sleeved jacket, pulling out a small device that appeared to resemble a scarlet book of some sorts, although it was quite rusted and had at its top 4 dimmed bulbs – a large cyan one at the top left, and 3 traffic light-colored ones next to the first one's right. 'Hey, wake up. Need you to check something.'

The bulbs flickered to life, making Red slightly smile. He turned part of the casing on its side, revealing a black screen on the left side of the device, a keyboard on the right, and various buttons adorning both sides. He held the machine up to face Vileplume, and the screen lit up with information displayed in green-and-black.

[Vileplume Lvl. 57

No. 045

Flower

HT 3'11''

WT 41.0 lb

The larger its petals, the more toxic pollen it contains. Its big head is heavy and hard to hold up.]

'Not bad. More powerful than that other Vileplume, I'm pretty sure. Thanks, you can go back to sleep again.'

The Pokédex immediately shut off, and Red closed it and put it back in his pocket, before noticing that Erika had been staring curiously at him the entire time. He raised an eyebrow at her, his way of questioning her behavior, which Erika understood readily.

"I couldn't help but notice your Pokedex," the young woman explained. "At first I thought that was a Model 1 edition, but your looked bulkier, and devoid of any voice functionality. Unless I'm mistaken, that is one of the older Developmental models, one used to register and catalogue Pokémon information in the first place. Is it not?"

'Damn. Of course she's gotten sharper.' Red nodded, not liking where this was headed…

"As I thought. That would imply that you were one of the original trainers that compiled the information that is now readily available to the world. I'm quite honored!" Erika smiled and bowed, many of the spectators gasping at their leader's respectful behavior toward who they viewed as an intolerable young man. "I have not seen an original Pokédex holder since—"

'Double Team, quick.'

In the blink of an eye, where there was once one Espeon now stood 10, surrounding Vileplume and all poised to make an attack.

"Ah, my apologies," Erika smiled. "This is a battle, after all." She looked upon the team of Espeons briefly. "Alright, Vileplume. Petal Blizzard!"

"Pluuuu!" The flower atop Vileplume's head stirred violently, and shortly after, pink petals violently blew into the battlefield, striking everything and everyone near it – namely, the armada of Espeons, who all disappeared upon being hit. Erika frowned; now there were a total of zero opposing Pokémon, Vileplume's real opponent nowhere to be found. She quickly glanced each corner of the battlefield, spotting a small patch of grass rustling a few feet to the left.

"Quickly, Protect!" Erika ordered, her Pokémon waving its arms to enact a light-blue barrier around it. Not even a second later, Espeon suddenly appeared slamming into Vileplume's shield, forcing him to rebound backwards and land near his trainer.

"You've quite the fast little Pokémon!" Erika complimented. "But I've grown quite observant in my years as a Gym Leader! There's no place you can hide from us in here!"

Red looked as passive as ever, but in his mind he was a bit impressed. 'Not bad. Might have a decent battle this time around.' His thoughts were interrupted by the banshee-like screams from some certain boutique employees.

"YEAH! YOUR OWN MOVE AGAINST YOU!" Brenda screeched.

"HOW DOES IT FEEL, HUH?!" Marilyn followed up. "HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING ON THE RECEIVING END OF A PROTECT?!"

'God, please just make them shut up.' Red softly growled but kept his focus on the fight in front of him.

"Now, Vileplume, use Razor Leaf!" Erika ordered, her Pokémon obediently unleashing a storm of razor-sharp foliage at Espeon. But to the eyes of the Eeveelution, the leaves were easily traceable, almost as if they were in slow-motion. He jumped to the side, easily dodging the attack and making the leaves hit solid ground instead, digging slightly into it so that they stuck out on their sides; the mark of a well-honed Razor Leaf, Red noted.

"Good, now Petal Blizzard!"

'What, again?'

Indeed, Vileplume once more stirred up a storm of pink petals that crossed into the battlefield like a hurricane. Red mentally ordered his Espeon to use Protect, and the petals slid off a barrier similar to Vileplume's from just a minute ago.

"Excellent! Now Razor Leaf!"

"What the hell?" Red muttered. But without even batting an eye, the Vileplume threw the weaponized leaves at Espeon, and just like last time, Espeon easily dodged. But despite three misses in a row, Erika still smiled and praised her Pokémon. "Good! Now, Petal Blizzard!"

"Spe…"/"Ah, c'mon…" the two challengers groaned as the former summoned a Protect.

And so it went for the next few minutes – Vileplume's pattern of Razor Leaf and Petal Blizzard that after a few turns seemed to be an automatic process. And of course, Espeon would either, like a dancer, Espeon jump over, dive in-between, and slide below the attack; or, surround himself a never-changing blue barrier to watch attacks bounce harmlessly off of it. Yet throughout the entire process, Erika continued to smile and encourage her Pokémon. Even Johnny and the other girls were starting to grow tired of the routine, some secretly hoping that something more interesting would hurry up and make itself known. But there was one who felt differently.

'She's up to something. Don't let your guard down.'

After perhaps the 4th cycle of attack-dodge-attack-protect, Red's suspicion rose. There was no way Erika was just under some wishful thinking that her attacks would hit Espeon eventually – this was a carefully planned pattern, he was sure of it. Was she testing their patience? Unlikely. Was the sequence suddenly going to change so that they could be caught off guard? No, that alone wouldn't be enough to faze them. Could Razor Leaf and Petal Blizzard, along with Protect, be the only moves that Vileplume knew? Now that would just be stupid. All Red knew was that Erika wanted this to happen. She wanted this situation. But why?

After the 7th cycle, he got his answer.

"You played your part perfectly, Vileplume!" Erika cheered. "Apologies for keeping you waiting, Trainer Jack. Your patience will be rewarded with Petal Dance!"

'Did she say dance?'

Vileplume raised its arms to the air, a powerful gust of wind being shot upward from directly below it, making its petals shake violently. Familiar pink petals arose from its flower's bulb – however, they were much brighter this time around, an indication of their increased power. But that was nothing compared to what happened soon after. The dual Poison-Grass type began moving like it was dancing, and the gust of wind expanded throughout the battlefield, forcing Red to hold his hat to prevent it from flying away, and Espeon to grip the dirt tightly to hold his ground. That wasn't to say, however, that nothing flew up. In fact, the hundreds of leaves and petals that now covered the field quite easily floated into the air, hovering menacingly above the Psychic-type.

Red growled at the sight. 'Damn it… this what she was up to?!' It was like a full-scale aerial armada directed right at them – and as fast as Espeon was, even he wouldn't be able to dodge all of that. Well, that left only one option. 'You'll have to hold it up for a while, but you gotta Protect against that.'

An apologetic "Esp…" played in his mind. His eyes widened.

'You can't…?'

It didn't take long for Red to understand why – Espeon used the move thrice back in the salon, and during this battle, another seven times, for a total of ten – the limit of its energy, or what trainers called "Power Points." Well, shit. Red wasn't sure if the attack would be enough to knock Espeon out, but he did know that it would still pack quite a wallop. Unfortunately, his friend would have to endure the pain… he'd have to make Johnny worry for a little while… and he'd have to deal with those banshees'… cheering… really loudly…

'To hell with that!'

The hellfire of garden life divebombed at Espeon, and due to the sheer amount of it, as well as the speed it was falling at, the attack obscured the view of the battle. No one could see the weaponized petals hit their target; in fact, no one could see anything beyond violet and green. And after another minute, when the hurricane finally died down, no one could see Espeon; just a massive pile of spring life where he once stood.

Red could hear Johnny gasp in despair – sparing a glance at the audience, he could see that the female members, especially the boutique warriors, were all trying desperately to contain cries of victory. They wanted to see their enemy's body first, just to confirm. Vileplume exhaled loudly, bringing Red's attention back to his opponent. Erika closed her eyes took a deep breath in and out, as if she was in some sort meditative trance.

"You did well, challenger," Erika finally spoke. "I am truly grateful to have met you in battle. But I believe this has come to an end." And the hundreds of petals and leaves began to be carried away by a gentle breeze, dancing in the wind like in a picturesque classical garden. Slowly but surely, the pile that blanketed the field became smaller and smaller. Nearly everyone who was watching, human and Pokémon, waited with stilled breaths to see the downed form of Espeon. Erika began to open her eyes so that she could properly see the honorable defeat of her enemy. Johnny's eyes were watering up, as he was terrified to see the defeated form of the one who had opened a path to reuniting with Eevee. And Eevee itself could only watch sadly as it prepared to pay its respects to its fallen brethren.

And Red just smirked like a bastard as the last of the petals were removed.

The atmosphere in the room took a complete 180. Erika and Vileplume reeled in shock. The other ladies gasped in terror. Johnny and Eevee alike beamed at the sight before them. For it was not a knocked out Espeon they saw… but a hole that could definitely fit one.

"Dig?!" Erika exclaimed, her elegance and composure having faded. "That's not even a move Espeon can learn!"

"CHEATER!" Brenda roared, her sisters in arms rallying behind her. "HE'S CHEATING, SOMEHOW!"

"No he's not!" Johnny protested. "He hasn't used any items besides the Pokédex the entire fight! Maybe Espeon CAN learn Dig! You don't know!"

"No," Erika responded, "I do not believe Jack has ever cheated in this battle… yet I know for a fact that Espeon is incapable of being taught of any Ground-type move beyond a basic Sand Attack." Her eyes gazed over the nearly perfect circle-shaped hole that marked the battlefield. For goodness' sake, not only did it know Dig, but it could make a hole that looked so perfectly circular something, like a disc. She briefly remembered the last time she even saw a disc, pinpointing her memory to before they stopped making Technical Machines… "Oh no." It finally hit her.

"Your first mistake," Red cut in while he held a finger up, "was choosing a Poison-type in a battle when you knew I had a Psychic-type." All eyes were on him as he raised a second finger, his cap shrouding his eyes. "Second, you had to point out my Pokedex." He continued to lift his fingers up one-by-one. "Third, you bet everything on one and only one strategy. Fourth, you didn't learn from the second mistake that I've been doing this for a long time; long enough to be around when TM's were a thing. And lastly…" He clenched his fingers into a fist and raised his head slightly, a single blazing eye showing itself to make everyone in the room shudder. "… you forgot that we're still in a battle."

CRACK.

Vileplume didn't even have time to register that the ground it was standing on was breaking – no, it was too busy taking the full brunt of Espeon's body as he erupted from underground and delivered a crushing blow to the Flower Pokémon, launching the living rose into the air and making it cry in pain.

'We're not done yet.'

"Esp…" An all-too-familiar bright-blue glow took over Espeon's eyes, the jewel atop his forehead shining an even brighter violet. The moment Espeon landed after his dramatic entry from the underworld, his head turned up to Vileplume, who now found itself floating in mid-air, a sparkling outline the color of Espeon's eyes surrounding its body. Erika and her gym trainers could only watch helplessly. But Johnny, overcome with excitement and joy at his hero's imminent victory, instead felt the need to scream.

"Espeon used Psychic!"

"EON!" In time with Johnny's command, Espeon flicked his twin-tails and sent Vileplume crashing back into the field, a loud BOOMechoing through the building and creating a cloud of dirt and dust that shrouded the once-proud petal-carrying Pokémon. Erika had to cover her eyes from the force of the impact and dirt that came her way, but slowly lowered her arms from her face as the dust began to settle. What she ended up seeing?

"Pluuuu…"

A knocked out and drooling Vileplume that humorously (according to Red, anyway) sat upside-down, its heavy floral decoration indented into the ground and keeping the poor thing from even being able to fall over.

Sami the referee had her jaw to the floor. Her mind was on overdrive trying to process what just happened, so she wasn't able to hear the calm and gentle voice of her mentor at first.

"Sami? I said you may call the match." Erika repeated.

"The hel— oh! Y-yes, yes ma'am!" Sami cleared her throat, but it didn't really do much to distract from the disbelief present in the room. "Vileplume is… Actually unable to battle! This means that the… winner is… that young man named Jack…? … Yes! The winner is Jack!"

Espeon trotted over to Red, who got on one knee to stroke his Pokémon's head affectionately. On the other side of the field, a recomposed Erika walked over to her fainted Vileplume and gently hugged it. "Thank you, Vileplume," she whispered. "You did a magnificent job." She returned her comrade into its Pokéball and looked over to Red, smiling sweetly. In the audience, Johnny cheered loudly for Red, while Eevee squeaked happily for Espeon's victory, neither being able to hear one another over their own celebrations. The rest of the Pokémon in the gym sat in awe – in their blissful and harmonious time with Erika, never before did they witness quite a spectacle such as that bout. Meanwhile, every other female occupant in the area only had one reaction in their minds: 'Fuck.'

"A most excellent job," Erika interrupted everyone's train of thought as she walked up to Red and Espeon. "I must say, despite our loss, I feel strangely joyous." She held her hand over her heart and closed her eyes, feeling her own heartbeat. "Yes, my heart is still pounding with excitement. Mr. Jack, you truly are a spectacular trainer! It's been years since I have felt such happiness in a battle!" For his part, Red nodded, earning a giggle from the Grass-type Gym Leader. "And of course, your strong and silent exterior is quite noteworthy. Now then, as per League rules…" Erika began to reach into her pocket, intending to hand the victor a gym badge.

"No need," Red muttered and held up his hand.

"Oh?" Erika tilted her head in mild confusion. "Do you not wish to obtain a Rainbow Badge?"

Red sighed and slightly opened up his jacket, showing her the rusted eight Kanto gym badges that were pinned on the inside.

"You… already have it?" Erika was only more confused now. "Not only that, but you have the rest of the official League badges, as well? Strange, I do not recall ever seeing you before today…" She glanced at Red's face, taking in his features: his defined jawline, those fierce eyes, the jet-black hair that lay messy under his red-and-white cap, a few locks sticking up like spikes. Judging by his appearance, Erika surmised that he was maybe one or two years younger than herself – it would make sense, considering he had such an old Pokedex and used Technical Machines at some point… "Oh my God," she uttered quietly, recognition dawning upon her own face.

As soon as Red saw her changed expression, he quickly closed his jacket and moved his cap down to cover his eyes again before turning away. Internally, he was fuming at himself. 'You fucking idiot,' he told himself repeatedly. What the hell was his problem? He swore to himself to make sure no one would recognize him upon his return to Kanto, yet here he was repeatedly dropping the most obvious of hints about his true identity. As cold as he had become on Mt. Silver, evidently he still wasn't all that smart, at least he told himself at the moment. He knew he should have bought some sort of disguise!

"Mr. Jack!" A high-pitched cry shook both trainers out of their thoughts (one of them quite thankful for the distraction) and turned to see Johnny running up to Red, hope plastered on his face. "If you won," he started, a face-splitting grin forming, "that means Eevee can come back to me, right?!"

Oh, yeah. Red remember that was the entire reason he went through all this in the first place. He looked at Erika for an answer, but the kind-faced young woman seemed lost – evidently, she had forgotten all about Eevee as well. Luckily for both of them, someone else had an answer. Kind of.

"Vee?"

All eyes were now on the small fluffy Eevee, but rather than squirming under all of the attention, the Normal-type just stood there, a unreadable blank expression on its face.

"E-Eevee!" Johnny stammered, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. He hurried over to the Pokémon, nearly tripping on the way there. "Did you hear that?! Now you can come back to me!" He held out his arms toward Eevee to embrace his Pokémon… only for it to hesitate and slowly back away from the boy. Confused and worried, Johnny extended his right arm to pet Eevee, but it swiftly dodged his touch and scurried around him. Espeon tilted his head but made no noise as Eevee found its new residence behind his legs.

"E-Eevee…?" Johnny murmured, his tears now those of sadness. "What's the matter…?"

Ordinarily, one of the lovely young ladies around would make a snide comment about how horrible of a boy Johnny was and that Eevee wanted nothing to do with him. But not even they wanted to intrude on this heart-breaking scene… plus they were still pretty much speechless after the battle just moments earlier.

Erika, though, was not so shy. "I asked you earlier about empathy, if you remember," she reminded Johnny, who moved his glassy-eyed head to look at her. "But you do not know its meaning. I think it is only right that I explain to you – if your guardian does not mind, that is." She turned to Red, who blinked and pointed at himself before quickly shaking his head to deny that he was the kid's babysitter. Erika giggled at his reaction, making him scowl and flick his head toward the ground. "It means," she addressed Johnny once more, "the ability to understand and share the feelings between you and your Pokémon."

Johnny stared at the gym leader, tears still falling down his face, though he didn't bother to wipe them away. Soon enough, however, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. "But I can't even understand what Eevee is saying! How am I supposed to know anything like that?!"

Red let out a sigh and shook his head. This kid was really digging his own grave here. No way would Eevee go back to its trainer with that sort of attitude… but Red sure as hell was not going to let all of this crap be for nothing. He eyed the little Eevee, who still hid itself behind Espeon and was looking at anything but Johnny.

'Fine. Let's see what's going on in there.'

"Ess…" Espeon murmured as he turned his head to look at the young and innocent Eevee. As if preparing for a Psychic, his eyes and jewel glowed once more, but this time the intensity had decreased significantly, and Eevee did not show any signs of being affected. At the same time, Red closed his own eyes and relaxed, waiting for something… and then everything he needed to see played out before him.

"Vee! Eevee!"

Johnny hugged the Eevee that leapt into his arms and nuzzled against his chest. Both were overcome with joy at meeting each other; the boy for getting his first Pokémon and companion to start his journey, and the naturally curious Eevee who wanted to travel along with a friend.

"I can really have it?!" Johnny beamed up at a taller boy, who had another Eevee perched upon his brown bangs that resembled the fur collar of the Pokémon. "Do you really mean it, Mikey?!"

Mikey smiled and ruffled little Johnny's head. "I really do, lil' bro," he replied. "You're an Eevee brother too, aren't you?" He laughed as his younger sibling pulled him into the hug, the older Eevee jumping down to pat his own little protégé affectionately.

"We're gonna beat the entire Indigo League!" Johnny started listing to his new friend, who chirped excitedly. "And then we'll go to all the other regions and beat those leagues! And then we're gonna catch all the Pokémon! And then—"

"Whoa, slow down there bud!" Mikey laughed. "You've got some real big goals, but you gotta work your way up there, y'know?"

"Hey, big bro?" Johnny asked. "I dunno what to evolve my Eevee into… Should I keep it the same as yours?"

"Ooh, asking the tough questions, huh?" joked Mikey. "Big brothers Sparky, Rainer, and Pyro wanted to make me evolve my Eevee a few years back, y'know?"

"But… why didn't you?" Johnny tilted his head in confusion, still gently rubbing his new Pokémon.

"Well… 'cuz we didn't wanna!" Mikey's own Eevee jumped up on his head once again. "And look what happened, we managed to get eight badges after we decided so! What I'm saying is…" he pointed to the younger Eevee that was still nuzzling Johnny's chest. "… that in the end it all depends on what you think is the best for Eevee!"

What's best for Eevee… as Johnny observed the adorable fluff of fur he was holding, he repeated his older brother's words to himself silently.

"Pro tip, trainers! You and your Pokémon are one – in body and in mind! And remember, trainers, a good deed a day brings happiness to stay! Poké Dude out!" The image of a muscular athlete flashed a toothy grin before the screen cut to static. Johnny turned off his Teachy TV and sat it next to him on the grass, then stared up at the branch of the tree he was currently sitting under, pondering what he just heard the so-called "Poké Dude" say.

"One in body and mind…" he repeated quietly to himself. He was interrupted from his musings by the laughs of his Eevee, who was busy frolicking in a patch of flowers a few yards away. Upon spotting his beloved Pokémon, he dwelled once more on the wise words of his brother. "What I think is best for Eevee…" Johnny reflected on the reason he wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer in the first place; that being the desire to prove his own strength. Just until a few weeks before he received his first Pokémon, Johnny would be ridiculed by the haughty children of his (rather wealthy) family's (also wealthy) friends for his meek nature and tendency to cry for the slightest of misfortunes. And indeed, he did not exude anything remotely near the confidence of his older brothers – especially in comparison to his idol, Mikey. And the memory of himself bawling his eyes out after simply being told to quiet down by his dear mother when he was younger still stung. The fact was that Johnny wasn't just gentle – he was, what one bully so kindly called him once before, a total wuss.

"Not anymore." Johnny wiped away the traces of tears that threatened to spill from his eye sockets. He stood up and put on his best scowl (which was unfortunately nothing more than him adorably scrunching up his face) and clenched his fists tight. He was not some spoilt brat anymore – he was a MAN (the eight-year-old told himself), and men were tough. They didn't cry, they weren't scared of anything, and they plunged into danger on a daily basis. And to take on the Pokémon League, Johnny figured that that was exactly the kind of guy he needed to be.

"Vee vee!" Once again, Eevee broke Johnny away from his own thoughts. The Normal-type was bouncing excitedly, a cute little smile decorating its fuzzy muzzle as it called for the boy to join it in the flower field.

Johnny stared back at his Pokémon blankly. He once again thought back to the lines that Mikey and the Poke Dude recited to him, trying to determine how they could fit together to suit his own desires. Then the lightbulb went off: if he and Pokémon were one, then what was best for him was what was best for Eevee. And to Johnny, the only thing that was best for him was proof that he was, most dead certainly, NOT a wuss. He made his way over to Eevee, who squealed in delight that its master would be joining in on the fun… only to recoil slightly with confusion upon seeing Johnny's sour expression.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" the boy bellowed at his now fearful companion. "Only wussies like flowers!"

"Ee…Eevee?" the creature timidly replied.

"Don't look at me like that, Eevee! If we wanna take on the world, we gotta be TOUGH!" Johnny puffed out his chest haughtily, only adding to poor Eevee's discomfort. But that was nothing compared to what the youngest Eevee brother was about to do.

"And for tough guys, flowers are only good for SMASHING!" With that, Johnny proceeded to throw a violent tantrum right then and there, crushing the flowers that surrounded them and kicking grass and dirt everywhere as he decimated the patch that Eevee so enjoyed. Said Pokémon could only watch in horror as its beloved trainer laid waste to that which brought it so much happiness just seconds ago. By the time Johnny was done, what was once a lush assortment of nature's beauty was now nothing more than a pile of dirt and ripped patches of grass, flowers ripped apart and laying in strew.

"Hah…hah…" Johnny panted, eyeing his handiwork with shaky breaths. "See… What'd I tell ya? Feels really good…" Johnny looked at Eevee, his heart skipping a beat when he saw it on the verge of breaking down in a pool of its own tears. He was about to yell at his partner to suck it up, but froze once it caught the myriad of emotions on its face: hurt, confusion, heartbreak… and betrayal. Finding himself unable to look any longer, he hurried to grab Eevee's Pokéball and silently returned it, but before it was completely enveloped in the red light, he couldn't miss how Eevee turned its gaze toward him, a new emotion showing itself in those teary brown eyes – fear.

His Pokémon now safely returned, Johnny looked at the ball in his hand in brief concern and guilt… But as quickly as it came up, he forced it back down. He was supposed to be strong now. Strong men like himself don't get upset over such petty things. And by the time he made it to his first gym battle in Celadon City, he was sure that Eevee would see things his way. Because they were in this together.

At that point in time, in a beautiful paradise of flowers tucked away in the corner of Sinnoh, a tiny, normally shy Shaymin suddenly felt the urge to kick some kid's scrawny little ass.

And thus began the downfall of Johnny's relationship with Eevee. From there, Red could see more of Eevee's memories – how downright terrified it was when Johnny let him out his Pokéball; how it would jump into a nurses's arms at the Pokémon Center to hide itself from the boy; and how quickly it would defeat opponents during Pokémon battles, for it knew the sooner the battle ended, the sooner it could go back in its Pokéball and escape Johnny's line of vision. Red was treated to instances where Eevee would momentarily shift its focus to admire a bouquet of flowers, only to be admonished by its trainer and forced back in its Pokéball. And at last, Red saw the icing on the cake – when Eevee forced itself out of its Pokéball to run to the beautiful aroma of the Celadon Boutique, Johnny chasing after it and demanding that it return to him. When the fluffy Pokémon ran to the safety of the store employees, who proceeded to hurl vile insults at the boy before throwing him out of the store. And when after it was brought inside the gym, it watched as Johnny was bashed in the face by an unreasonably large stamp, forcing him to the floor and finally making the child drop his tough act as he burst into tears and ran away, presumably to the Pokémon Center where he met his idol, Mr. Jack.

Red brought his hand to his head and rubbed his temples with his thumb and index finger. How the hell did he find himself sandwiched into a soap opera like this? 'Okay, let's get this show over and done with. Is the kid's mind vulnerable enough?'

Espeon, still glowing in psychic energy, turned to the kid in question, observing his trembling form intently before speaking up. "Espe."

'Good. Let him have it.'

Espeon closed his eyes in concentration, flicking his tail at Johnny's direction. As he did so, the 7-year-old's thoughts were suddenly bombarded by the same memories that Red sat through, and with each one that played out, guilt slowly etched itself on the child's face as he realized the magnitude of what he had done. After it was all over, he shakily made his way over to his Eevee, who could hear his approaching footsteps and dug itself into Espeon's pristine fur. The whole room watched in silence as Johnny fell to his knees just a few feet away from his first Pokémon, his hands clasped in front of himself.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" Although Eevee's ears flicked slightly at Johnny's words, it continued to cling onto Espeon like he was its lifeline, refusing to meet the eyes of its trainer. Johnny sobbed at the sight but steadied himself before continuing. "Y'know, back before I met you, a lot of boys made fun of me for liking flowers…" He smiled sadly as Eevee finally moved to look at him, even though traces of fear were still written all over its expression. "Until a couple of weeks before we met, my favorite thing in the whole wide world was playing with the flowers in the big ol' garden my family had… And whenever mommy and daddy's friends came over, they brought their sons along to play with me. But all they did was push me around, and, well… ruin all of my flowers." Eevee let out a soft cry upon hearing that – it sounded quite familiar.

"They would always call me a big wuss, they'd grab all the flowers in the garden and just rip 'em all apart right in my face… and then they would spit on me and blow all that dirt on me and laugh! And y'know what they said…?! 'Now you're looking tough!'" Johnny grit his teeth and tightly shut his eyes, all of his pent-up anger finally coming out. "And I believed them! I was so dumb that I believed those jerks!" Erika and the other women looked at Johnny sadly, some with sympathy and being able to relate to the feeling of being brought down, others with guilt for treating the boy so harshly beforehand. And as for Red, a soft but fierce growl escaped his throat, knowing all too well what it was like to have those you thought you could trust crush you until there was nothing left to break.

"So that day…" Johnny continued somberly, "… when I did all that horrible stuff to you; it was 'cuz I didn't wanna be looked at like that anymore… and because I wanted to make you like me…" He smiled sadly at Eevee, who now had its full attention on its former friend, lips quivering and ears drooping to the side. "I thought the best thing for you was to get tougher like I wanted to. So you wouldn't end up getting hurt like I used to…" Getting on his feet, he slowly made his way closer to Eevee, a feeling of hope being reignited inside of him when he saw that his friend made no attempts to run away or hide. "But I think I get what big bro meant now. And the Poké Dude, too. The best thing for you is to be happy…! And that makes me happy, too! So, I guess what I mean is…" Though tears still fell freely from his eyes, Johnny managed to break open a grin. "… You're already perfect the way you are!"

"Vee… Eevee!"

Though its vision was obscured by tears of its own, Eevee still found its way back into Johnny's arms, leaping into his chest and nuzzling fiercely against it as its tears soaked up his shirt. At first Johnny was slightly taken aback, but soon he returned the embrace with equally intense vigor, both of them bawling in pure and unrestrained happiness. Even with an entire audience around them, the only things that mattered or existed at the moment to these best friends were each other, finally reunited and having their relationship rekindled.

"I was clearly wrong," Erika said to no one in particular, a gracious streak of pink coloring her cheeks as she felt her heart flutter. "Eevee is indeed better off with you – and most definitely vice versa."

"Awwwwwwwww!" The rest of the female population in the gym cooed at the touching scene that played before them. Their hostility and harassment toward Johnny were all but gone, and in their place were adoration and tender care for the delightfully adorable little tyke and his partner.

"Es…!" Even Espeon found himself watching the two, affection and admiration gushing inside of him over their bond that was now stronger than ever. He looked up at his trainer to view his reaction… Only to see him frowning and his hat back in its favorite position: tilted down and covering his eyes. Confused and somewhat surprised, the psychic creature proceeded to read the young man's mind…

'What the fuck is a Poké Dude anyway?'

Sometimes, Espeon really couldn't believe what Red was thinking.

"That kid," Brenda sniffed as she wiped her tears, "he's alright!"

"I'm going to miss Eevee," Liza the giant stamp-wielding gym trainer added. "But… at least it's in good hands now!"

"I guess everything worked out for the best!" Marilyn sighed in bliss. "That Johnny learned his lesson, and we got to see such a cute reunion…"

"All's well that ends well, like they say!" Diane and Lillian (the other stamp-wielding maniac) sang in unison.

"Not really."

The five girls jumped and twirled behind them, finding themselves being stared down by a pair of flaming eyes. A mixture of attraction and fear stirred inside them as they instinctively took a step back from Red.

"At the end of the day," he continued, "you still assaulted a child."

"What was that?"

All five of them yelped as they once again turned, meeting the critical and questioning eyes of their beloved gym leader.

"Something about someone assaulting a child?" Erika pressed on. "That's awful… It reminds me of those days when we quite shamefully turned down trainers over our perfume. Did you hear about this new development, ladies?"

'Fuck,' the beautiful maidens thought for the second time that day.

The orange-bathed late afternoon sky colored the whites of a certain trainer's short-sleeved jacket as his back faced the windows of the Pokémon Center through which the light shone. He stood with his hands in his pockets in front of a red-haired nurse, a seven-year-old boy, and his Eevee.

"Mr. Jack," said Nurse Joy with a smile, "sincerely from our hearts, thank you." She giggled when Red simply nodded in response.

"You're really incredible, Mr. Jack…" Johnny stated in awe. "You helped me get Eevee back and totally beat all those trainers… I wanna be as cool as you and Espeon one day! How about you, Eevee?!"

"Vee! Eevee!" Eevee agreed, wagging its tail in excitement. The duo's enthusiasm lit up Nurse Joy's face even more, and even Red found himself smirking slightly at them.

"Hey kid," Red addressed Johnny, getting down on one knee and rummaging through his tired and worn green backpack. He pulled out a silver disc along with an orange metallic case and beckoned for him and Eevee to come closer. As they approached, he inserted the disc inside of the case and gently pressed the contraption upon Eevee's head. Pushing a small switch on the side of the case with his thumb, Red waited as speckles of light emitted and enshrouded Eevee, slightly startling it and its trainer alike. The particles quickly evaporated, leaving behind the same Eevee, except for its bushy tail showing hints of sparkles.

"Uh…Mr. Jack?" Johnny carefully asked as Red put his items back in his bag. "What did you…?"

"Ask Eevee to use Swift."

"Huh? But Eevee doesn't know—"

"Just do it, kid."

"Uhhh… Okay? Eevee, could you, uh… maybe use Swift?" Johnny half-heartedly commanded, not expecting much to come out of it.

"Vee-EevEE!" Eevee jumped and swished its tail up toward the ceiling, a small array of stars bursting forth and flying about 5 feet in the air before dissipating. The Evolution Pokémon bounced up and down, giddy with excitement at the new move, while its trainer likewise beamed at the display his Pokémon just showed.

"Holy Miltank!" Johnny exclaimed. "Mr. Jack, how'd ya do tha—"

"You better fight damn well, from this point on."

"Mr. Jack," Nurse Joy started sternly, "please mind your langua—"

"If you really aim to beat the League, then you'll be facing things a lot worse than what just went down. And to be real with you, it's gonna hurt. You're gonna be frustrated and angry more often than not. A good chunk of what's gonna come your way will be some of the scariest shit you've ever seen or felt. There may even come a time that you wanna just give up." Red could see Johnny and Eevee becoming more disheartened with every word he spoke, and his gaze softened. "The only reason I know this is because that all happened to me. I was gonna give up, once." The fledgling battlers seemed surprised that he admitted such a thing, but Red didn't notice – he was remembering the picture of a young raven-haired boy in tears as he cradled his nearly dead friends atop a cliff overlooking the sea…

"But no matter how bad or scary it seems, or even how many times you lose – you have to just keep fighting. Because when you give up; well, that hurts even more than any sort of danger."

Red took a deep breath in – he could scarcely believe that he actually spoke that much voluntarily. He took a moment to observe the other three's reactions, blinking when he saw their gaping faces. Then, with the faintest hint of a grin, he uttered his last words to Johnny: "Knock 'em dead, kid."

Eyes shimmering with renewed hope, Johnny slowly nodded his head. "Y-Yeah… Yeah!" He cheered as he pumped his fist into the air, Eevee similarly raising one of its front paws. "I'm gonna get as strong as you, Mr. Jack! Even if we get beat up sometimes, it's okay! 'Cuz we'll hit 'em back even harder!" Marching to the front doors with his partner in tow, he looked back at Nurse Joy and Red. "Thank you for everything…!" he choked through a held-back cry. "We'll… We'll never forget you!"

"Eevee…Eev!"

Nurse Joy giggled and waved cheerily to the two, while Red simply raised his arm in farewell. And with that, the new and improved duo of trainer and Pokémon walked out of the Center, their heads held up high and their lips curled into bright smiles. Now, they were truly tough.

A couple hours later into the evening saw Red back in one of the provided rooms from the Pokémon Center, laying down on his bed, hands behind his head and facing the ceiling. He was currently thinking over the day's events, which happened to be his first full day back in civilization, and comparing them to whatever expectations he had upon arriving in Celadon City. He recalled how he felt when he left the harsh and almost-inhabitable terrain of Mt. Silver. On the one hand, part of him was excited to see what new challenges rested in wait for him, new ways for him to test his strength and push the limits of power between him and his Pokémon. For the Champion living inside of him, battling was practically the elixir of life, and without anything to spice it up, suddenly all purpose would be lost. In addition, the prospect of seeing all of his Pokémon again was a major incentive for Red. Before he left for the death trap of a mountain range, he actually promised that he would continue regularly training with all of his teammates. And for around a year, he was able to keep that promise – until apparently some asshole lobbyists had convinced everyone that the digitized storage of creatures was "unethical," thus banning the technology indefinitely. So, normally the first thing Red would have done after leaving Mt. Silver was pay them a long-overdue visit.

But that didn't happen, because that would mean going to that old man's place, something he was really not looking forward to.

In fact, the prospect of going to Pallet Town had to do with his other feelings of hesitation and frustration upon departure of Mt. Silver. Though he figured it was obvious to everyone after today, Red had grown to sort of just hate talking to people – at least, according to himself. Having to return to a world where most people could do anything EXCEPT shut up? Yeah, that was pretty much the definition of hell in his eyes. Add that to the fact that Pallet Town was home to a few notable individuals that particularly made him detest human interaction in the first place, and the small village was a melting pot of disaster. Still, Red surmised, it wasn't like he had to talk to them. He figured he could sneak into the laboratory and nab his friends before anyone noticed. Hell, it would make for some pretty sweet revenge for those times when those demons damned him to the grave.

Red sighed and turned to his side. He thought that he had lost the ability to care about any of that ages ago. But it looked like not even the stone-cold winds of the mountain were enough to freeze his heart, seeing as he still dwelled on those memories even now…

KNOCK KNOCK.

"Mr. Jack?" the sweet voice of Nurse Joy asked on the other side of the door. "Are you there?"

'Nope.' Red didn't even bother to answer the call, choosing instead to remain idle on his bed. He still had some more brooding to do, after all. Another couple of knocks, and still Red had no intention of getting up. He even closed his eyes and tipped the brim of his cap over them, not feeling even a little bit bad for ignoring his visitor.

"I see the lights on, Mr. Jack," Nurse Joy's voice rang, causing Red to growl at how insistent the lady was. "You have a visitor waiting out in the lobby for you."

Red jolted up, his hat falling off his head. His eyes grew wide, then narrowed in anger. How the hell did someone find him already? He briefly considered the different ways to escape without alerting anyone, lest he be confronted by someone else from his past.

"They say they have something that will be of interest to you," she continued. "They didn't go into any more detail than that, but they insist that they speak to you. I wouldn't keep them waiting!"

Okay, maybe escaping wasn't the best option. Red's worries turned into curiosity – what would he possibly need at the moment besides the rest of his Pokémon? Unless that's exactly what the visitor was offering. He placed his cap back on his head and stood up from the bed, the creaking of the springs being heard even from the other side of the door.

"Ah, excellent!" Joy chirped. "I'll let her know you're on your way!" She walked away from the door, Red able to hear her footsteps until they faded away. He briefly considered the possibility that this could very well be a trap to lure him into some unknown entity's hands. It wasn't like Red knew any women who would really want to see him. After all, most of the important girls in his life cast him aside…

'No, god damn it. Stop thinking about that.'

After shaking off those unfavorable memories, Red shrugged to himself. Even if it were a trap, he was fairly confident that he could handle himself. With that in mind, he left his room and made his way to the lobby of the Center.

"Ah, Mr. Jack!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. "Over here!"

Red looked at Nurse Joy, who was waving at him and standing next to a seated young woman with dark blue hair and a scarlet headband.

"Long time no see," Erika smiled.

"Ah, shit," Red spoke his first words since Johnny left.

"You know, you caused quite the stir among the league when you disappeared."

"…"

Erika and Red sat across from each other at a booth in the food court, the former with a jasmine tea in her hand, the latter sipping a cup of water with his head turned away from the gym leader.

"My, I don't remember you being this cold," Erika softly giggled, taking a sip of her tea. Red scoffed in response, although Erika still didn't stop smiling at him. "You battled most excellently today, by the way, but of course I'm not surprised. Seeing you again makes it feel like only yesterday when you dominated my gym with your Charizard."

Red continued his silent treatment, although he allowed himself to smirk as he remembered his first battle with the Grass-type Gym Leader. Upon seeing his mouth curve, Erika slightly blushed and took another sip of her drink to hide it.

"I won't be announcing to anyone that you have been found," Erika assured him. "I'm sure that you went with the alias 'Jack' to prevent the news of your return, correct?" Red nodded in reply. "Although, you could have done with a disguise if you were so worried…" She laughed at Red's misfortune, making him scowl. "Regardless, and I know it's not my business, but I must ask… Why exactly did you come back? Moreover, why leave in the first place?"

"… To find a challenge," Red said after a moment's hesitation.

"Is that so…"

Red gazed at Erika from the corner of his eye and could see that her smile now seemed to be masking some sort of sadness behind it.

"I can't speak for your return," she started slowly. "… But are you sure if challenge was the reason you left?"

Red grit his teeth and looked away, but that told Erika everything.

"Earlier today, we touched upon the topic of empathy with your Pokémon when it came to young Johnny," Erika reminded him. "And I cannot find a better example of how important that is other than you. Your relationship with Espeon in our battle was quite admirable." She finished what remained of her tea and set it on the table that separated herself from her old acquaintance. "But that's not to say it only applies to Pokémon. Empathy with people is just as important…"

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me?" Erika asked, smile finally faltering. She began to grow uncomfortable under the harsh glare that Red was currently directing at her.

"Empathy with people and all of that crap – it's all a steaming pile of bullshit." Red had the sense to set his glass of water down on the table before continuing, avoiding any risk of shattering it in anger. "Don't go spouting any of that nonsense to me. All it does is piss me off even more." His eyes pierced Erika's as he pointed a finger at her. "I dunno why you're trying to guilt me, but it won't work. People never had any empathy for me, so you sure as hell better believe I won't have any for them, either."

"… I see," Erika whispered, looking dejectedly at her now empty cup. "So that is your stance on the matter…" She could hear him grunt and the pressure of his gaze disappear. She looked up and indeed, Red had gone back to staring into space impassively. Her courage returning to her, she spoke up. "And yet, that did not stop you from showing empathy to young Johnny." Although she was met with silence, Erika saw his eyes narrow, and she knew that at some level, she got through to him. "I'm not sure what happened between you and your loved ones before your departure, but I would like to clear up any misunderstanding on what happened immediately after."

"Yeah, 'cuz I'm so sure they changed their tune overnight..." Red rolled his eyes, and although she did not appreciate the gesture, Erika found some solace in the fact that he was beginning to show more emotion.

"Myself included," she started, "all of the gym leaders, except for Viridian's, immediately set out with their own search parties and wouldn't stop looking day and night for you. I particularly remember hearing how the Cerulean sisters practically scoured the entirety of the Seafoam Islands, as well as how Surge of Vermilion would regularly threaten and interrogate any potential leads that he found. And of course, I'll never forget Sabrina's rage for the fact that even with her Psychic prowess, she couldn't sense your energy at all." Erika closed her eyes, reliving everything that went down. "The Elite Four themselves had put the League on hold indefinitely so that they could find you and make sure you were okay. Funnily enough, I believe that your disappearance was the catalyst for making them humbler and more benevolent within their roles as Kanto's strongest. Lance was the most vocal about it, but there was a shared sense among them that they failed you.

"As for your other friends, though I cannot confirm the truth behind any of it, we heard from Professor Oak himself how horribly they took the news. Your mother was in denial at first, apparently going so far as to prepare full home-cooked meals for when you were supposedly to come home. Once the truth finally set in, however, she would not stop crying for months, or so I was told… The professor himself could hardly believe the news, putting all of his research on hiatus only to mourn on his shortcomings as a father figure to you - a role I had no idea he assumed until that point. Some of the Gym Leaders visited him once, but all he could say was how he should have checked up on you…

"That slightly older trainer you would frequently get into arguments with – Green is his name, I believe – fell into a depression when he discovered that you were gone. He confined himself to his house for weeks and refused to talk to anyone, even his Pokémon, before eventually joining the search effort. Your younger blonde-haired friend was heartbroken upon learning that you willingly left, and she scoured the entirety of Kanto and Johto independently for two years looking for you. But when nothing turned up, she couldn't stop blaming herself for what she called her own 'heartlessness.'

"But perhaps the one who took it worst of all was your blue-eyed female friend. Again, I cannot say for sure, nor can I comment on the order of when this all happened, but from what I heard she fell into a severe panic attack soon after learning that you were gone. At some point she lashed out against those she believed drove you away, even herself, and broke ties with everyone for several years. She would often join our search parties, but as it became clear that we were not going to find you, she took off on her own to search in other regions for around 5 years – just to bring you back home."

Erika opened her eyes to gauge the raven-haired trainer's reaction. As seemed to be trademark for him, his ruby-and-white hat was positioned to cover his eyes, and he had a somber frown firmly in place. Yet Erika did not miss Red's noticeable shaking, nor his tightly clenched fists.

"As I said," Erika stated as she rose from her seat, "I shall not tell anyone of your return, despite all of the effort that went into looking for you… for if anyone is to break the news, it should be you. Though, if you'd like to take things one at a time…" From her pocket, she pulled out a piece of paper and slid it across the table to Red. "I'm confident that you will agree that this would be the best place to start." She started to walk away, but not before stopping in front of the unresponsive Red and gently placing her hand on top of his.

"From the bottom of my heart, it really is good to see you again. And by the way, you might be interested to know that you've garnered a fan club back at the gym." Erika added that last part and giggled adorably when she saw Red's head raise in visible confusion, before finally taking her leave. Red watched her as she left, bewilderment swirling inside of him as he mulled over her words.

'…Weirdo.'

He sighed and held his head. He wasn't sure if what he was feeling at the moment was still anger or newfound guilt, but he did know that all of the information he just received made him flat-out tired. Red stood up and was about to make his way back to the room before remembering the paper that Erika left him. Picking it up and taking a brief glance at it, he raised his eyebrows at what was written: "Bill Masaki Sonezaki. Xtransceiver # 25021225."

After hours of celebration, food, and battles, Ash finally found himself sitting outside on the lawn of Professor Oak's corral, surrounded by his Pokémon and human companions. From their position, they could admire the sunset and the accompanying purple-and-orange coating of the sky, all the while reminiscing on that day's events.

"I still can't believe you managed to beat Agatha," Misty murmured in disbelief, Ash's Incineroar chuffing in pride, as it was the one to do battle with and defeat the retired Elite Four member's Gengar.

"Y'know, I had a Dragonite before you did!" Iris exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Ash. "It's no fair that yours was able to beat mine!"

"And you call me the kid," Ash rolled his eyes while rubbing the right arm of his Dragonite, who cooed in pleasure.

"To think, you had a Charizard too," Kiawe marveled at the large and proud flame that burned at the tip of Ash's Charizard's tail. "Look, you may have gotten lucky and beat my Charizard, but you better damn well know that won't happen again!"

"Rmph." Charizard simply snapped his head away from Kiawe, prompting everyone besides him to laugh at the gesture. After it died down, they continued to observe the sunset in silence for a few moments, before someone spoke up.

"Hey, Ash. Thanks."

Ash turned to Brock, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh, you're welcome, man. But what for?" Several facepalms followed.

"Don't go saying 'you're welcome' when you don't even know why, dummy…" Goh muttered in exasperation.

"I mean," Brock explained, "thanks for… just being you. And for making us better because of it."

"Uh… I don't really follow, Brock."

"He means," Cilan cut in, "thank you for impacting our lives for the better by being your authentic self."

"I—Wait, what? Where's this all coming from?!" a flustered Ash asked, earning some snickers from his Pokémon.

"What can we say?" Mallow shrugged with a smile. "Guess seeing you get so far makes us kinda nostalgic, y'know?" Many of them nodded at that.

"You remember how I was when I started a journey? All inexperienced and spoiled?" May rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "It was only because I was with you that I could grow up…" She blushed ever-so-slightly at this, the red in her face being missed by almost everyone (save for Serena, who briefly twitched for some strange reason).

"What do you know," Dawn sang, "me too! Honestly, I don't think I could have gotten so far without knowing you were there for me…" Another small blush, another twitch from Serena.

"Um… Me too…" Lillie didn't catch a certain Kalos performer's severe twitching problem. "I mean, in my case I was just kind of scared… of Pokémon, I mean… until you came along…!" She finished with a melting smile and cheeks tinged in pink.

"Of course, some of us had to take care of YOU," Misty declared haughtily… but of course Serena noticed the heat in her face. And, of course, her twitches began to look more like a seizure.

'It's not fair! Why does he get options, while I can't even get one lousy date?!' Brock lamented to himself.

Serena was about to finally make herself heard when Tracey loudly cleared his throat to interrupt. "You're right, Misty," he began, "but I think Ash's outgrown us, huh?" Several grunts of agreement followed his words.

"W-whoa, hold it," the black-haired young man in question stuttered, waving his hands in front of him vehemently. "Look, it's nice of ya guys to say all that, but I think you're kinda giving me too much credit here!"

"It's been said already, but it's weird seeing someone like you be so humble!" Max interjected.

"I—no, that's besides the point!" Ash briefly shot a glare at Pikachu, who was loudly laughing along with Squirtle, Gengar, Totodile, and Oshawott. "I mean, even if I helped ya out from time-to-time, that was only 'cuz it was the right thing to do, y'know?" He paused and stroked his chin, trying to choose his words carefully. "Well… if it wasn't for the fact that you all put up with me for this long, I'm pretty sure I'd have just given up, get it?"

"I can't imagine someone like you giving up, to be perfectly honest," Clemont voiced his opinion.

"Yeah, but again, that's only because you guys were there. I… if I was just by myself, I don't think I'd ever have the courage to follow through on anything. Before I left Pallet Town for the first time, the only real encouragement I ever got was from my mom… So even though I was excited and everything, I was also terrified when I started out, because I didn't really have anyone with me."

Ash's friends, human and Pokémon alike, listened silently to his words. This was the first time they heard him being so candid about his fears. Pikachu barely noticed how Ash pat his head gently, too engrossed in his best friend's words.

"But meeting all of you guys along the way," he continued, moving his head to get a good glimpse at his entire extended family, "it really made things better. You all made it so that I never felt alone. So when you're talking about how I impacted your lives… I dunno. I guess I do that as a way of saying thanks for being there with me."

Only the rustling of grass and a few cries of other Pokémon followed for a few moments. Then Pikachu, along with several of Ash's team members, nuzzled up to him in heartfelt affection. At the same time, Serena placed her hand over Ash's, eyes glistening at him, while Brock squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. The others edged closer to their one-and-only Ash Ketchum, sending him varied expressions of gratitude, happiness, and content, making the young man don a similar face.

"Thanks for being there with us, too."

They stayed like that while the sun finally set in the background, enjoying each other and the bliss that surrounded them. In that moment, they were unaware of a creeping danger on another side of Oak's residence.

"Squad TRio to HQ," Jessie spoke into her communicator. "We have obtained the data from the Professor's database as requested." Next to her, Meowth held a USB hard drive, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Excellent job," the other line replied. "I shall relay this information to Mr. Giovanni. Depart to the west outskirts of Pallet immediately. An air carrier will meet you there to bring you back to base."

"Roger that," the three Rocket agents said in unison before the line cut off.

"I can't believe we actually did it without getting caught," James breathed in amazement.

"Ain't nothin' that the boss's top henchmen can't do!" Meowth bragged, wagging one of his claws at his blue-haired partner.

"Alright, enough dilly-dallying!" barked Jessie. "You heard the administrator! Let's get going already!"

"WOOOOBUFFET!"

"… Yeah, what he said," Meowth broke the awkward silence that followed Wobbuffet's sudden appearance, his other teammates nodding and running off.

"The mission has been declared as a success, Mr. Giovanni."

From behind his desk, Giovanni smirked and turned his chair to face his top administrator and personal secretary, Matori.

"Wonderful. Give those three a bonus upon their return, would you?" Matori nodded at his orders, though her scowl didn't escape his eye. "Oh? Is something the matter with that?"

"No sir," she quickly rebounded, pushing up her glasses. "I'm just… Astonished, I suppose, that those three buffoons could get the job done." She ran a hand through her dark purple hair, trying to recompose herself.

Giovanni chuckled and stroked the back of the Persian sitting in his lap. "Yes, they have come quite a long way from those bottom of the barrel wretches, haven't they? Of course, I've learned that even the weakest links can perform excellently, given the right motivation."

"As you say, sir." Matori bowed before leaving her boss's office.

"Now, then…" Giovanni turned his chair back around, pulling out a remote from his shirt pocket. He pressed a button and a large screen slowly made its way down from the ceiling. "Proceed with contact," the Rocket Boss ordered, the screen flickering to life in response and displaying 10 black boxes which, for a few seconds, contained nothing but static. Then, one-by-one, floating heads appeared in each box, some looking annoyed, others curious, and a couple with some sort of bravado.

"And to what do we owe this honor, oh great Giovanni," one of the heads sarcastically drawled.

"Oh, don't give me that, Gropius. Not when I bear such good news." Giovanni's smirk grew wickedly.

"And what would that be, Giovanni?" another head asked. "Could you have possibly secured the data?"

"Indeed I did, Doctor. And it's coming to my headquarters shortly. I trust this is especially good news for you?"

"Aha! Oh, undoubtedly. Leave it to Team Rocket to get the job done. I must ask that you do not waste a moment in sending it over to me once it arrives. I already have the Mirage System up and ready."

"Tch. Data is great and all, but don't you think something more tangible would be better?" a female voice scoffed. "If it were me on whatever mission that was, I'd go one step beyond and grab the most powerful Pokémon there. After incapacitating it in stone, of course."

"Oh, if you're going to do that," another voice interrupted, "do you think I could have that Pokémon? I'm afraid my collection is already hungry for more additions…"

"Pfft. You mean more of those stupid trading cards?" another answered for him. "How the mighty have fallen, right, 'Chosen One'?"

"Yargh! You're not much to talk about things like that, ya greedy lil' Tepig!" a loud and rough voice roared.

"Indeed," Giovanni agreed. "If I recall, didn't all your precious assets go down the drain upon your arrest?"

"Ohoho!" Giovanni's smile was now forced as a bossy high-pitched laugh took over the call. "Is that right? I tell you; it seems the only competent business folk can really only be found in my family, isn't that right, Giovanni dear?"

"We didn't come on this call for your family reunion, madame." The man who spoke rubbed his spectacles in impatience. "Honestly, it's all about you, isn't it, woman."

"Bah. You're one to talk, old man. Your own megalomania is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen." A tall red-maned man shook his head in contempt.

"My, my, bickering again?" Giovanni chuckled. "Come now, my colleagues. How will we accomplish our ambitions if we can't even get along with each other?"

"Getting along," a cold, emotionless growl echoed through the call, "friendship, compassion, empathy, anger, narcissism, pride… All merely other terms for 'meaningless.' To be forced back into this world, bearing witness to such weaknesses… Such a fate is perhaps the greatest insult of all."

"Oh, here we go again. Mr. Can't Crack A Smile about to lecture us again."

"Better than any of your 'Business 101' lessons, you old has-been."

"Ahargh! The little lady has spunk!"

"How long are you going to do that whole pirate thing? … And does it make any money?"

Giovanni's patience finally ran dry and he sighed as half of those on the call continued to bicker with one another. He couldn't believe that he, leader of the greatest crime syndicate in the world, was forced to sit through this banter and let his authority be disrespected. Rolling his eyes, Giovanni glanced at each of the faces on the screen, frowning as he counted them. "Odd…I didn't notice it before, but it seems one of us missing—"

A new participant's screen popped up in the call, showing the moving image of a man almost completely enshrouded in darkness, save for his long, luscious brown locks and muscular build, along with his deceptively handsome, passionate black eyes. In a deep, silky voice, he spoke: "My, my. Could I possibly be interrupting something?"

At once all arguments ceased. What once were faces of arrogance, irritation, or fury, were now occupied by fear, calmness, or for a couple even lust.

"N-Not at all, sir," one of them stuttered. "We were just… eager for you to join us."

"Aha, is that so?" the new addition chuckled. "Your devotion is much appreciated, but I think that our leader warrants that attention at the moment. Isn't that right, Giovanni?"

"…Thank you," Giovanni uneasily responded. "As I was trying to say earlier, the data will arrive to the doctor shortly. Now, miss hunter, you were bragging about how you could have captured incapacitated Pokémon just moments ago. I trust, then, that comes from a string of successes up to now?"

"Wh—Oh, yes sir," one of the ladies replied. "My carrier is currently housing two of the Swords of Justice, as well as the Lunar Pokémon."

"Excellent. Are there any other updates from anyone?"

"The Legendary Birds have been reintroduced into my collection, as well as the Guardian of the Seas. Quite the accomplishment if I do say so myself."

"Ahargh! Speaking of the sea, the Lord of the Ocean is still within my control!"

"As is the Renegade, under myself."

"I have pinpointed the location of the Preserver of Order and expect to capture it shortly."

"I have had a taste of the power of the Ultimate Boundary. Once my accomplice assumes control of it, I will dwarf all other beings that dare get in my way…" a maniacal chuckle followed this statement, much to the ire of some of the others present.

"Well done," Giovanni praised. "My trust in you all has paid off, after all."

"Many thanks, Giovanni, but let us not forget the reason behind our accomplishments. I believe it's fair to say that we would not have gotten this far without that missing power that our dear friend has provided."

"Oho! How right you are! If it wasn't for our handsome benefactor, I doubt any of us would even want to speak to each other, let alone team up like this!"

The silky voice spoke once more: "You flatter me with your words, you two. However, let's not lose sight of the man of the hour. Mr. Giovanni, your leadership has been crucial to our progress in this entire endeavor. For that, I offer my sincere gratitude – I have the utmost confidence that this 'Team Rainbow Rocket' will soon possess the power necessary to break reality itself. Now, let us continue to work toward ascension, my friends! That which resides above origin is but a few steps away!" As he finished, murmurs of agreement and even rounds of applause broke out through the call.

Giovanni nodded, seemingly satisfied by his underling's short speech. "Very well. Let's break for now – as always, regularly update the group with any more progress." With that, he pressed on his remote control again, each box flickering out and the television screen itself retracting back into the ceiling. He stroked his Persian's fur some more, making the feline purr, as he turned his chair back to his desk and reached below it, clicking on an intercom. "Matori, get Annie and Oakley in my office. I have a personal mission for them." After letting go, Giovanni leaned back in his leather chair. Outwardly, he retained his sinister grin. After all, everything was going according to plan, and right now he had his new allies under relative control. Soon enough, the entire world would be groveling at his feet!

But although he exuded confidence, the truth was that he knew that his authority was being challenged.

'Damn that insufferable glory-hogging brat,' the gang boss thought to himself. 'Don't think I don't know what you're trying to pull…!'

Persian hissed as his master's strokes grew rougher and more painful. He snarled at Giovanni, but unfortunately the man was in a world of his own at the moment.

'I don't know what the hell it is you're planning, but you won't be alive very long to see it through. You may have your uses now, but as soon as I see you slipping, I shall take you by the neck and personally choke all the life out of you! The world is mine and mine alone – and it has no room for has-been emperors!'

Persian's anger ceased, replaced by genuine fear for his own safety. Giovanni's mouth had morphed into a twisted and downright terrifying grin. He jumped off of his master's lap once the man clenched his free fist to such a degree that it began to bleed. The cat knew better than to test Giovanni's patience at moments like these – in the state he was in right now, no one was safe.

Author's corner:

I guess this is the part where I talk about some of the madness that went into how the hell I produced my longest chapter yet in only a month. Amazing how much you can get done if you write just a little bit every day, isn't it? Wish I learned that earlier, but better late than never.

Yes, I know that A LOT happened in this chapter. And that scene transitions were aplenty. My apologies if any of it overwhelmed you - even I was beginning to think it was getting to be too much, and briefly considered splitting this chapter into two. But by that point it was already almost done, so no real point.

Depending on how much official Pokemon material you engage with, you may have caught two glimpses of references to the Pokemon Adventures manga. If you ever read that little spheal I did about how I wanted to carefully blend the worlds of the games and anime instead of just mash them together and pray to God that it worked, you may be wondering what in the holy mother of fuck I'm doing bringing MANGA material into the mix. Well... it's my story and not yours so shut the fuck up n00bs

In all seriousness, I was hesitant to do it at first - but I decided that since I'm already taking care to make sure that elements from the games and anime fit together, I was able to take that extra step and put in those "Special" touches. I haven't read the entire thing, but I do like the Adventures manga, so I'm excited that it will be playing a part in this new world that I'm trying to build.

You also may notice that some people seem out-of-character here, namely a certain spectacle-wearing inventor who, deep within the machinations of his mind, can only ponder about his misadventures with scat. The reason I wrote him like that was, quite literally, for shits and giggles.

A lot of easter eggs this time around, too. In fact, I'll challenge you, dear reader, to spot as many as you can! ... No, you don't get any prize. What do you think this is? Ash's Last Battle?

Speaking of weird contests, as I promised last time the big bad villains have made their first appearance! I wonder if you can name them, besides Team Rocket obviously...

And finally, a little incentive to continue following this fic - the old and the new champions will finally meet! Yes, we've arrived at the point where Red shall encounter Ash. Will they meet in battle? Will it be their last battles?!

... no lol

Thank you for reading! As long as there's at least a couple of people out there who enjoy this fic, it inspires me to keep writing! And from this point on, I'll try to respond to your reviews if you have them! Any and all feedback is provided, including what you like and what you don't like, so don't feel shy! Til next time.

...I also wonder if you can guess how Red talks to his Pokédex anyway lmao