My racing heart settled as I looked Mal over. That had been our most intense battle yet and a bit of adrenaline was still pumping.
Those attacks Dunsparce had tried to hit Mal with had likely been Flail. The lower the hp of the user the more powerful the move was. In the games it could have more base power than a Hyperbeam. Memories of Flail Magikarp sweeps came briefly to mind.
The movement aspect of battles I hadn’t given nearly as much consideration as I should have. Dunsparce had wings and could use them to a small extent. I had not accounted for that. My team was going to need better movement options. For Callie I’d need some sort of solution to close distance or attack from range. For the yet unnamed Dunsparce they needed some ranged attacks and Rollout maybe could be used to reposition. As for Mal I needed to do more than use him as a flying turret. He had to be more mobile…
Maybe I could do something tricky like have him orient himself facing downwards. The sky behind him and the ground in front of him. Force people to engage him when he’s over their heads…
“The porygon hand it over.”
The voice is young and unkind. It cut through the post battle silence and the stillness of the woods.
Mal glared at them from where he floats next to me and let out an angry “Reee!”
I turned to face them. They were a young man a few years younger than me, sixteen maybe seventeen. His clothes were a bit stylish. His hair was deep red in an almost feminine style. A pokeball was held ready in his left hand out in front of him.
“What did you say?”
“The porygon hand it over.” he gestured to Mal, “It doesn’t need a weak trainer like you.”
“That’s what I thought you said.” My eyes met his, they were red. “Just who the fuck do you think you are…”
----------------------------------------
…Asshole?” I asked, “Really Lonnie you named your rival ‘Asshole’?”
“I call them like I see them.” Lonnie shrugs without looking up from his game. It was Tuesday and he was doing the bug catching contest. Gold, Silver and their remakes had a variety of timed events. “When my dad had me play Blue as my first game I called that one ‘Jerk’. My vocabulary has expanded since then.”
I couldn’t really fault him. The early rivals were the most unpleasant. Gamefreak had a bunch of limitations when it came with fitting the games on the cartridges of the time. It didn’t really give them much space to actually have dialogue for characters. To try and make a memorable rival without using up too much space they just made him a jerk. That had carried over and you ended up with stuff like Gary in the anime. Silver was a continuation of the jerk rival but taken even further.
“Yeah he is an asshole. He did steal pokemon. But…”
“Nah, man. Stealing a pokemon from a guy in a fursuit isn’t a big deal.” Lonnie paused, “Maybe more like a public service.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“The dude he takes the pokemon from is a pokemanic. All those fuckers wear fursuits.” Lonnie paused and then chuckled, “Isn’t the shuckle that dude gives you named Shuckie. Hey that rhymes with…”
I quickly held my hands up in T shape. “Nope, calling a timeout.”
Thankfully he allows it as I try to translate what he said. Pokemanics were a type of trainer that really liked pokemon. The most recent game had them dressed in this weird vest. Their more well known models showed them dressed up as pokemon in cheap costumes usually with some sort of head piece…
“Cosplayers Lonnie, they are cosplayers.” I stressed the word. “Besides, the dude isn’t a pokemanic in the remakes. I think the sprite is different...”
“Just because the dude likes dressing up in public more than at home doesn’t change things.”
I sighed.
“Let’s go back to the stealing pokemon thing.”
“Sure dude steals a pokemon from a ‘cosplayer’.” Lonnie did air quotes with his fingers, “He also steals a starter from that useless fuck Elm. That’s not why he’s an asshole though he’s a power hungry dick that only sees pokemon as tools that’s why he’s an asshole.”
Silver was one of the most complicated rivals in the entire game series. He also showed a huge amount of growth as a person. But he was an asshole that only cared about power at the beginning. He hated the weak, pokemon and people. He had never made it into the anime but Paul was probably based somewhat off of him. Silver also really really hated Team Rocket. He fought them whenever he could.
“Lonnie, why does Silver want power?”
“Gray it’s pokeworld. It’s pretty much a meritocracy. The strong trainers are at the top of the pyramid.”
I sighed had Lonnie not paid any attention to Silver?
“He wants it in part to take down Team Rocket. Their resurgence is what really lights a fire under his ass and what pushes him so far in the game.” I explained.
“Uh, cool I guess. An asshole that hates other assholes is still an asshole.”
Did he not know?
“It’s personal for him. Silver is Giovanni’s son and his mother was probably Ariana.”
“What?” Lonnie frowned and furrowed his brows in thought. A few moments passed as his game laid forgotten. Finally he speaks again, “Where the fuck is that in game?”
“The Ariana part is speculation. But well, she’s a Rocket Admin with red hair that looks a lot like Silver’s. As you said, ‘anime hair don’t lie’.”
He mulled it over for a second before nodding, “Gio was sticking his pen in company ink. Go on.”
“The Giovanni part is hidden behind a celebi event in Illex forest with the shrine. You time travel and see the moment when Giovani abandons him.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
It was a very rare and rather sad event. Silver had to have been pretty young at the time, Lyra didn’t even recognize him.
“It’s shortly after the events of the first game. Giovanni vows to get stronger and one day return and reform Team Rocket stronger than ever. Silver calls out his father for acting strong when he’s in a group but actually being a coward and weak when alone. In the end Silver kind of freaks out about the whole thing and vows to become powerful.”
Lonnie frowned, “Okay so he’s an asshole with daddy and mommy issues. He still treats pokemon like tools.”
“Yeah… he’s kind of such a dick because that’s all he’s ever known. His mom is an admin and he’s the third generation heir to the Team that his grandmother founded.”
“All sorts of family drama up in here. Family dinners must be something else.” Lonnie remarked. “Still doesn’t excuse being a dick to pokemon.”
“No, it doesn’t. But that way of life is all he’s ever known…” I sighed, “He gets better, much better. Even if it does take Lance personally kicking his ass for him to reexamine how he was treating his pokemon. That, combined with the example of the player, have him grow and change as a person. Did you ever look for him in the postgame?”
Lonnie shook his head, “Nah, I ain’t got time for assholes in real life. Got even less time for pokemon assholes.”
Silver at the start of the story was a power hungry kid that hated the weak and was implied to be almost abusive to his pokemon. He saw them as nothing more than tools in his quest for power. He was an asshole and all around bad person in a way no other rival ever was. The games didn’t really have the capability to tell complex stories very well. A lot of it got lost due to the limits of the medium. However, sometimes the little things they did got across big messages.
“He trains around the Dragon’s Den some days. His starter is now following him around outside of the pokeball just like the player’s pokemon. It’s a companion now and not a tool.” I smiled, “He gets his rematch with Lance but it’s a double battle. It’s supposed to be him and Clair against you and Lance. But he refuses to fight with Clair and her weird costume. So for the first time the two of you fight together. One of his pokemon has evolved since the last time you faced him. His Golbat is now a Crobat.”
“Oh…”
I smiled and enjoyed the silence.
Crobat was a friendship evolution just like Blissey was. An abused or unhappy pokemon would never evolve like that. Those tiny little changes in Silver’s team lineup and with his pokemon now following beside him, let the game transcend some of its limits. It got the message across in a way that words and battles couldn’t. Silver truly was no longer the asshole you first met.
“Yes, Silver is an asshole but he gets better.”
It felt good to shut Lonnie up from time to time.
Had I forgotten anything?
“Ah one more thing. In a spinoff game Ho-Oh accepts him as a trainer.”
“What the fuck Grey? The asshole is pure of heart?” Lonnie almost shouts.
I shrugged, “Eh, he gets close at the end of his character arc. He just needed a little push in the end.”
“Damn, so the player character, Silver and N…” The rest is lost as Lonnie mutters. “Eh, hey that celebi event there has to be more to that right? It’s not just you watching some soap opera.”
“Uh, you travel back in time to when Team Rocket has taken over the Radio Tower.” I shrug, “Giovanni is in a cave listening to the broadcast and is going to go and answer it. You battle him and losing to a kid a second time really shakes his dream.”
Team Rocket taking over the Goldenrod Radio tower was essentially the climax of the story. They announce their return for all to hear and call Giovanni back from his years of isolated training. It’s one big showdown where the player defeats the Rocket Admins and they vow to disband. After that there was only one more gym, then you fought the Kimono girls and they called the bird. That was the end of the main story. The rest of the game was the E4 and clearing the Kanto gyms. That all just ended up feeling minor with Rocket defeated and the bird returned.
“Huh, so what if the player never defeated Giovanni? They never do the event.” Lonnie asked.
“Um, someone else gets taken back or they just do it in the distant future? It’s time travel man.” I paused as I considered. “Giovanni doesn’t show up in the game so he’s obviously defeated in that cave. When exactly someone goes back and defeats him, I don’t know. It's probably all timey wimey bullshit.”
“Nah, I don’t buy it.” Lonnie shakes his head, “There has to be sometimes where he’s not defeated there. Either no one shows up or whoever does show up isn’t strong enough. He gets to the tower in time to stop the player. Gio and all his pokemon are swole after years of intensive training…”
Fuck.
Where’s the aspirin?
He’s getting into it.
He begins to speak faster and faster as he begins to ramble. “They beat up the player and with a new and strong Team Rocket… Ah, can’t forget the forced evolution inducing radio waves. Team Rocket had to have backups of that research. Otherwise there would have been nothing for Lysandre. Speaking of family drama. Fucking Har…”
Lonnie sees me reaching for the pill bottle.
“Ah come on Grey! I haven’t even started yet! People not beating Gio might be one of the causes of timelines where you get Rainbow…”
----------------------------------------
I rubbed my forehead feeling an approaching headache as I stared at the Asshole.
Silver.
I knew I had fucking forgotten someone.