When we stepped into the street Cape and I were jumped by Jeremy, Alice, Clarisse, and Dendra. Alice was the first to reach and engulf us in a hug, which I returned, and then came Jeremy, Clarisse and finally Dendra who began to chat animatedly.

“It was not that hard of a battle, I thought it would be a lot harder than that!” She said while frowning and then seemed to remember something. “Congratulations by the way!”

I laughed at her disappointment. “Well it was not supposed to be hard for us, it is supposed to be hard for beginners,” I said, “it will probably not be too difficult for you guys too.”

That somehow seemed to make things worse. “Ah, Chopper will not like that.”

Then Clarisse and Alice began to speak about the battle and how they knew we would win easily. Cape was occupied speaking with Spike and Taylor. Since we were still on the sidewalk most of our pokemon were in their pokeball to not crowd it.

We were so distracted speaking with them that I almost did not notice the two big picnic baskets by the group’s side. Alice explained that they planned a picnic as a way to commemorate the win. We then walked to the nearest civilian park near the Gym. It was a small and plain grassy area with a tiny artificial lake in the middle for water pokemon.

We spread a big towel on the ground and released our pokemon, Jungle, Mesa, Dendra’s team and Fancy joined Cape, Spike, and Taylor. Clarisse didn’t have any pokemon since she was very busy as the gerent of the Pokemart.

Cape took the center of the group of pokemon and began to explain to the group how he won both battles and totally made Bugsy cry in shame, I caught that one by the crying motion he made with his hands. Chopper, Cross, and Spike saw past the bullshit parts of the story but Jungle, Taylor, and Fancy seemed to have fallen for it, Mesa was unresponsive but his attention was on Cape.

I had checked Cape before leaving the Gym. He would have to rest a bit, but the cuts from the shurikens had just damaged his carapace which should heal in a day or two by itself with a little rest. When the story, longer than it should be, finally ended there was a cheer for Cape. Which inflated his ego by a lot.

I looked over at the games and playthings that Jeremy and Alice took out of a bag for the activities part of the picnic. They had different types of balls for us to play, board games, and even some frisbees. We then played around with the pokemon, minus Cape who had to rest, Jungle and Cross were particularly good with frisbee, and Dendra was very good with the soccer ball. Alice, Jeremy, and I were not the most active people one would find and soon enough we stopped to sit on the towel.

Dendra and some pokemon, Jungle, Spike, Ress, Taylor, and Fancy played hide and seek. Cross and Chopper were not playing but stayed alert to not let them get too far away, after that game ended we discovered that Spike, the Ariados, was great at it, who would’ve guessed?

Alice, Jeremy, Clarisse, Cape, Mesa, and I played a couple of board games. Dendra and the pokemon played until they were tired and we all sat down to eat. There were many types of food, fruits, sandwiches, cookies, sweats and also someone had done fries, onion rings and other fried things. We spent one more hour together and then we had to go.

My team and I would be going home to let Cape rest and the others had things to do. Clarisse had some shipments from the Pokemart that she needed to look over. Jeremy had to home to go prepare for his work in the afternoon since he had asked someone to stand for him in the library during the morning and Dendra wanted to go see a new Unovan movie that was recently released.

The walk home was very special for me. I did get out my badge case just to look at the Hive Badge a couple of times and make sure that I really had it. It was the culmination of all that Cape and I worked for these last couple of years.

Legendaries! When I met Professor Oak in person I might hug him.

I had been ready to wait for two more years but now I couldn’t imagine waiting even one more year for this.

I turned to Mesa, who was my only pokemon accompanying me, and showed the Badge to him. “See Mesa… Today Cape gained this for the team and one day you will help him get another one.”

The Baltoy looked at the badge and made a spin.

After some more minutes of walking, we reached our apartment building and entered our apartment.

Cape just laid about in his puff and watched a movie which was fair after all the work he put in the battle, Jungle decided to sit on the other one and I played the puzzle game with Mesa until lunch and after it, Cape came back to his puff, and the Bulbasaur and the Baltoy divided the other one in a very cute manner with Mesa sitting and Jungle resting on his lap, they soon enough fell asleep.

After washing the dishes I laid in my bed to read a book about the pokemon masters of the last thirty years.

I read for half an hour and then glanced over at the TV and, noticing that the plot of the movie had slowed down, put down the book and turned to Cape.

“You know, I was thinking that we should get a new hobby.”

“Hera?”

“Yes, our hobby of training and studying became a job so now we need a new hobby.”

“Cross,” he said, “heracross.”

“If you are doing something you like with no monetary compensation it counts as a hobby,” I said and sat on my bed. “Now that training is going to be… Already is a nine-to-five job. I was thinking about getting something to distract us when we are tired of it. What would you like to do?”

Cape thought for a bit and then put his hands together in a rectangular shape and moved one of his claws.

“You want to take pictures?” He nodded. “That’s great. Before we leave Azalea I will buy you a camera.”

I laid on my bed again and picked up the pad and added that to the list and glanced at the other things there. We still needed to put our things in storage. I already had talked with the apartment owner about giving it back, and then I needed to have that battling session with Project and—

There was a clap and I glanced over at Cape, who had done the action to call my attention. When he saw that I was looking he pointed at the TV.

I got up and walked close to Cape. Before, the TV had an adventure movie and now it had a news program with breaking news in the lower part of the screen. I focused on what the anchor was saying.

“—hours ago, inside Johto borders, in the Western Zone, League Rangers engaged in an aerial battle against a group of Salamences that invaded through the Frontier, our sources claim at least three of them were spotted. The rangers halted the dragons until Gym Leader Jasmine and her Gym Trainers could reach the area and expel the Salamences back towards the Frontier.

“As of now, we have no information as to possible deaths. It’s known that two villages reside near the area where Gym Leader Jasmine and the group of Salamance fought. Our production tried to contact them but we were unable as the fight damaged local communications—”

The program then turned to a discussion around a table with experts who talked about the wild Salamances, what pokemon Jasmine might have used and what were the extent of the damages.

Invasions by wild pokemon were not that uncommon. However, big and aggressive ones like Salamance were very rare, small pokemon like Sneasel frequently travelled between the two sides to pick some easy food but they were small, had an instinctual aptitude toward sneaking and knew not to hurt humans. Wild Salamence didn’t need to come to our side since they had plenty of food in the Unknown World, and as they never entered here before they had no concept of holding back.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

The news went on to show videos of famous Salamence fighting, Drake’s Strike, Lance’s Spear, and, of course, Pelton’s Havoc.

“Don’t worry Cape, they are nowhere near here.” I scratch the same spot that Bugsy had, making Cape relax a little.

It was really a bizarre situation. Salamence were also known to not stray from their territory, why would they try to pass the Border?

I just hoped that the Rangers didn’t lose their lives or their pokemon.

-

“Dodge, Flare.” Said Roger.

The Vulpix jumped to the side just as the Lebyba passed by her.

Emilia took the sweat off her forehead and said. “Turn around and Supersonic.”

The Ledyba named Knuckle slowed down her flight, turned around, and began to gather energy to use the sound attack but simply didn’t have the time.

“Ember.” The fox pokemon gathered a small fire in her mouth and released three small balls of fire on the bug pokemon, who dropped the gathered energy and flew to the side.

I was not surprised, Supersonic was a difficult move to use, not only did the pokemon have to gather the normal energy but still needed to shape it to produce sound.

I looked around to see if no one had wandered near us. If one of the attacks of the pokemon got in a child we would not hear the end of it. Project, our trainer group, Dendra and I, were together today sparing with our weakest pokemon in a civilian park since they were really weak the law allowed us to train here but it still would be better to be alert even if Flare’s Ember could not make even second-degree burns.

I felt a bump in my leg and looked down at Jungle, who smiled at me. I crouched down and gave him some pats. We had already fought against Katy’s Winpod, named Baine, and Jungle had won, Baine had been fast, but thanks to the aim training with Razor Leaf, Jungle had managed to hit him enough for us to call it, of course when Jungle used it he had not sharpened it enough to cut. He had tried to befriend the little Winpod too after the fight, but that line was just too timid.

Katy, Jess, Dendra, and I were on one hill overlooking a plain field where Ronald, with his Vulpix, and Emilia, with her Ledyba, were sparring. Ronald, I learned, wanted to be a fire pokemon specialist, and had as his starter a Growlithe and, most recently, a Vulpix. Emilia wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father and become a bug specialist, she had a Yanma as her starter and a Ledyba, both pokemon were stronger than normal specimens that her father had searched for her in Ilex Forest.

Outside of those fighting. Katy wanted to be a water pokemon trainer, she had as a starter Tylla, the Palpitoed, the Winpod Baine and then Asha, the Ducklett, and Jess was another fellow generalist, she had a Hippopotas, named Quake, and a Starly named Velocity, two lines commonly found in her homeland, Sinnoh.

“We are going to leave after tomorrow then?” asked Jess.

I nodded. “ten a.m. is good for you?”.

“Sure.”

It was the day after my win against Bugsy and tomorrow morning Jess was going to be battling him for her badge.

We, Project, had talked about the routes we were going to take and had decided on the groups. Katy, Ronald, and Emilia would go to Violet City, and Jess and I would be going to Goldenrod. Dendra would be going after all of us to Violet, where Jess and I would meet her while the others would go take the Ghost badge in Ecruteak and then come back to Violet so that all of us could participate in a big tournament that was going to happen there.

“Do you mind if, after we leave Ilex forest, we take the Sea Route?” I asked.

She seemed to think for a moment. “Actually, I was going to suggest the same thing, better battles and more challenges that way.”

I nodded although it was not what I had in mind.

There were many routes in Johto, most took the traditional route, the route that the first Champion took to unite the city-states into the first iteration of Indigo. Well, at least historians believe that that was the route he took.

The drawback, however, is that in the last decades, the rangers became so efficient at their job, with all the technological advancements like the radio and internet, that the routes were now so safe that even someone with zero pokemon could walk on them. The rangers routed out the more dangerous and aggressive pokemon and pokemon lines so veteran trainers began to make their own alternative routes that passed through areas where these pokemon now lived, and then went to catch these pokemon or use them as training.

Just outside of the fittingly named Ilex Forest Route, was a connection to the Sea Route, which passed through all of Johto coast by hugging close to the sea instead of the traditional route which was away from the coast. I would be going there to find an ice-type pokemon, but Jess seemed to like the idea of a more difficult journey.

Well, whatever the motive, I was glad she was coming along. Going alone was definitely not ideal and now I felt less pressure to catch a pokemon in Ilex Forest.

My attention was drawn back towards the fight as the Ledyba finally collapsed from exhaustion, Vulpix couldn’t hit her but she also couldn’t hit the Vulpix. Ronald and Emilia decided to call a draw.

As they came back towards our hill Jess and Dendra moved forward to our improvised arena. Dendra released her Hawlucha, Cross, and Jess released her Starly, Velocity.

“I'm glad that you brought her,” Said Katy, “I think I speak for everyone when I say that we were unsure about what to think about her.”

I nodded. “People don’t like how she fights in the Battle Hall but she only fights like that there.”

“Yeah, she is proving to be a good fit for our group though.”

“That is incredible, “Roland said as he looked around,” six people who already could win their second badge training, sparing together, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the first time this happened in the history of Johto.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised either, when I told my father about our group he looked at me like I had grown another head,” Emilia said.

“My father thinks johtonians are weird,” Katy added. “Even Mother.”

“So he thinks you are weird too?” Laughed Ronald and she balled her fists and turned on him.

Roland and Katy began to bicker so I paid attention to the fight. The Hawlucha had the upper hand, Starly was faster but he had the ability to maneuver in the air, which made counterattacking the air strikes of Velocity easy.

“When I was in elementary school my father told me to make a study group,” Katy said, coming back to the topic. “So I tried to make it one time and no one wanted to participate, they just said to study alone or that they wanted to study alone.”

“… I hate to say it,” Ronald whispered out loud, “but they were trying to say that they didn’t want you to pass them on the board.”

“Yeah. I got that soon enough. Thanks, Ronald.”

He responded with a thumbs-up.

That brought me memories. In school, every Friday of the last month we went to the board to see how we did in that month’s tests. I also remember having more friends when I was a problem kid than when I climbed over to the third spot on the board.

“Now that I think about it our culture is really competitive.” Said Emilia and then tilted her head. “What is that Unovans calls it again?”

I knew that one. “Toxic.”

“Yes, that.” She shrugged. “Maybe they are right?”

“If there is a group that thinks that, then it would be us,” I said.

“Maybe you guys are on the fence, but I think it's all pretty stupid,” Said Katy, “people become stronger when working together.”

I understood Katy. Indigo as a whole did have a very competitive, ambitious, and sometimes even bloodthirst culture. Our people have never forgotten our origin as the beginning of civilization.

It showed up in our ancient stories, songs, tales, paintings, and buildings what we did and how we did it, by zealously killing, slaughtering and, more recently, competing with each other until we had strong enough partners to protect ourselves from the outside.

Sinnoh, Hoenn, and the Western Continent didn’t create pokemon training, they had adopted it but they had not paid the price as we had.

However, I also understood that those times had passed.

We still produced powerful and incredible trainers and together Indigo was still the strongest Region in the world, but now we could see that the others were catching up by different methods. Sinnoh had Cynthia and Hoenn had Steven. Trainers were so strong that, for the first time in a long time, people were questioning if the Indigo Champion was really the strongest. The Western Continent also was finally producing trainers at the level of our Elite Four.

Their approach of collaboration and association was working and I hoped it would work with this group too. We spent some time in silence just watching the battle when Emilia suddenly asked.

“Did you guys see the Salamence in the west?”

“Yeah. Crazy right?” Robert said. “My mother said that she didn’t remember the last time something like this happened.”

“My father said that Jasmine might have lost two maybe even three pokemon if she had fought alone,” Katy said.

“She did not?” I asked.

Katy shook her head. “She only held them down until Lorelai could get there.”

“Having a parent in the League is better than watching the news then.” Ronald wondered out loud.

“My uncle said that when I get to the Western Zone I should not go into the wild and only stay in the main routes and Cities.” Said Emilia. “He said that the Salamances were not the only thing that passed the border.”

Everyone stayed in silence for some time just watching the battle and trying to deal with the idea that there might be more to this story than it seems.

“I will listen to this warning,” I said, “when a League Official tells you to not go somewhere it's probably a good idea to listen.”

Then Dendra and Jess's battle ended with the winner being Cross. The training we did had been paying off I guess.

-

It was night and Cape was playing around with Jungle and Mesa as I was again reading the book about masters. I wanted to finish it up before we left.

After some time Jungle and Mesa retired to their pokeballs to sleep, their energy didn’t even come close to Cape’s, who sat at his puff and began to watch a show match between two ACE trainers of Hoenn.

I took a deep breath. “After tomorrow, after we give our apartment and before we leave the city we are going to visit Mother Elena before we leave.”

“… He.”