Route 1.
The route of beginnings for every rookie trainer to traverse through when starting their journey to adulthood. It's always sort of been a Pallet Town kind of tradition to view the old beaten route that way. The first step that you took was the first step to…pretty much everything. You were only limited to what's in your backpack, and the Starter pokémon at your side. With no parents or guardians needed to be by your side to ensure your safety, you were officially acknowledged to provide yourself with the minimal protection.
The thrill of independence washed over all my classmates and any other children from Pallet that began their individual quest. At the time, I was more focused on properly assembling my team and heading straight into getting in the groove of battle training. I already had a good grasp of how make a secure camp, foraging skills, and wildlife etiquette. I was blessed to have had great help especially after the passing of…
Anyways, I wasn't as struck with the full weight of my responsibility as an independent trainer like the others were wont to do. It pretty much felt like "business as usual" for me, being 25 years old with a job in Healthcare Administration set a high bar for crippling expectations needed with the required responsibility. So going out on my own to raise fantastic creatures to fight each other while properly conserving food, money, and any resources I could gather on a nine-month long journey felt simpler in general.
Didn't mean it wasn't difficult because man was it hard. Simple doesn't always mean easy.
Certainly, held myself together better than most, and that's even when I was still going through a rough rut to gain publicity to endorse mom's budding business. Y'see, despite the children of this world possessing more maturity than the ones from my own, at the end of the day, they were still children.
I'll leave you with that thought because it isn't too hard to put two and two together, and whatever guess you make of it, is most definitely the case of what I'm implying.
Now Route 1 wasn't just a short zig-zagging path with tall grass and steep cliffs, it was way more expansive. You were basically in the wild, surrounded by pokémon that aren't just Pidgey and Rattata. You have your Mankeys, Sandshrew, Spearows (and boy were there a ton of those along with the Pidgey), Caterpie, a couple of Ursarings with their offspring Tediursa, and Doduo. And these were only the pokémon on land, the ones in the nearby river that travelled inland and to the sea through Pallet Town, the Pallet Peninsula, held some noteworthy pokémon.
Gyarados, Poliwags, Tentacool, Goldeen, and if you're stupid lucky like Daisy, you'll even find a Staryu amongst the rabble. Already you can tell from the roster of pokémon presented here where I caught my first two pokémon: Sparrow and Macaque.
Although I might be overlooking some more pokémon that are here on route both in land and in water, but the variety given to trainers both new and old was still outstanding. It also made it more dangerous since if Route 1, the route for beginners, held significant mystery and danger then the ones going forward would be no different and even more potentially life-threatening when unprepared.
After all, Route 1 allowed rookies from Pallet Town to simply retreat back home when overwhelmed, so like training wheels. Sad to say that going inland into the region deprives you of that blessed option to return to the safe confines of your family and home.
But I guess that danger would only apply if you were to go off the trail and enter the thick brush of the forest to sides of the route. Route 1 also consists of a forest called Pallet Woods just further up north, the final stretch before reaching Viridian City, but even that road had a clear cut path. As long as there's a path, pokémon won't really bother you unless they're the confrontational type.
However, going off the path meant potentially stumbling your way into uncharted territory…okay, no, let me rephrase that. It meant that you're possibly getting into another pokémon's established territory (there that's way more clearer). Take for example the Ursaring, like the real world bear, you can easily tell it's presence in the area by the slash marks left across the trees.
That's a big warning to avoid the area lest you want to confront it and test your odds.
However, if you spot slash marks AND shallow slash marks covered in honey just beneath the deeper ones, then that's a clear sign for you to realize "why the hell you aren't already running as fast as you can". That's a clear indicator that an Ursaring and it's offspring were close, and trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near a mother Ursaring watching over their baby Tediursa. There've been enough reports of mauled trainers and the unfortunate death or two of a couple of rookie trainers who clearly weren't aware of the signs or just ignored them.
There's an unspoken rule shared between the humans that cross past the route and the pokémon who live there. Unless something major occurs to shake the local ecology of the route, then the pokémon won't attack you for simply passing through unless they want a fight, but…all of that goes out the window when you physically encroach upon their home, off the trail.
Which is why all good boys and girls should take the trail when visiting the route.
Unlike me, who has his Rapidash blaze through the deep brush of the Northwestern Pallet Woods. Epona was thrilled by the change in scenery and the chance to run along tough terrain while maintaining the speed and maneuverability necessary to navigate around the obstacle ridden forestry. It was some nice training for the equine pokémon, and it also made doing my own personal patrol of the area run smoothly. Killing two Pidgey with one stone as they say.
The trip ran smoothly with no aerial assaults from any Spearow that wanted to act cantankerous with us. Through the cracks of the high tree branch leaves, I made out the large spanning shadow of my Fearow keeping a vigilant eye out for any danger that could come at us from above. It was a job more suited for the overprotective avian.
After all, as one of the known intimidating avian pokémon in the region (it has "fear" in their species' name), no amount of upstart Spearow or Pidgey would want to pick a fight with him. No matter how jealous some may be at the sight of a human-trained pokémon.
Epona and I's shadow was noticeably darker than what was normally possible as it even twitched with each gallop Epona made through the forest. During the last legs of my journey, I had begun researching the Elite Four on the off chance that I won and would take them on. It always amazes me how Agatha's able to cram four freaking Gengar into her shadow.
The experience was super weird for me and Kidd to still get used to. It felt like…ugh…its so hard to explain without making it creepy… So, it's like if someone cut open a pocket in the back of skin and slipped themselves through the cracks of it while they were as cold as a dead body. Y-Yeah that still sounds super unsettling.
I asked Prof. Oak if there's a trick to it, and he replied that he's not fully aware of it since he's never really felt comfortable allowing a Ghost-type pokémon that amount of trust to enter his shadow, much less four of them. And so, I asked if he could get the opinion of his old rival for me, and like that he had every excuse under the sun not to do it.
I decided to look more into that later.
Were one to really focus beyond the rapid clopping of my Rapidash's breakneck run through the woods, they'd hear the slight sounds of rustling around my constantly moving perimeter. The sounds of scurrying and a couple of meaty whacks here and there was the result of Kamia's excellent surveyal efforts. The Scizor was in his element with all this thick foliage to hide himself in.
It provides him with enough cover to remain hidden from any upstart pokémon seeking to pick a fight with us, and to stay out of my periphery because any pokémon that manages to confront me can figure out his location from following my line of sight.
So, yeah, those were 4 out of the six pokémon I chose to take with me on this little excursion. The formation we took was one I steadily employed during my treks in the wilds of Kanto. It provides perfect aerial and ground precautions that one should never overlook when entering the home territory of violent territorial pokémon.
We've yet to really slow down the pace since we left Pallet Town first thing in the morning. The morning's been nothing but patrol, observe, intervene, and "moving along" whenever a pokémon was in the middle of a bloody successful hunt. It went unsaid but a trainer's duty included the protection of their hometown and by extension their entire region. Thankfully, there's not another war that's going to start anytime soon otherwise, I'd be drafted along with those at or above my age group, and anyone who just so happened to reach the age of 11.
As pokémon trainers the League ensures to remind us of our duty to our home, both man and pokémon alike. Thankfully this responsibility was mitigated upon the formation of the Pokémon Ranger Corps after the end of the second war and the formation of the Kanto and Johto Leagues becoming the Indigo League.
Now patrolling the wildlife and ensuring everything was safe was indeed a duty, but it wasn't a heavily enforced one. Pallet Town does have a few (and that's being generous) Rangers stationed nearby, but in retrospect we sort of didn't need a whole Regiment here like they do at Viridian City and Pewter City.
We had the "Pallet Town Watch Committee" that have a group of retired local trainers already doing their part to patrol around the vicinity of the town. For the nautical emergencies, we left that for Dockmaster Aaron and his dockworkers to handle. Not to mention that we literally have the famous Pokémon Professor and former "Kanto" and Indigo League Champion amongst our number. So, we're secure in terms of scaring off any asshole criminals wanting to mess with us. The act of patrolling, at least to me, incentivizes trainers.
Who knows what you could find out in the wild. Perhaps a new pokémon you haven't seen before, or you could run into a battle that could evolve your starter. The potential benefits outweigh the stigma of potentially wasting your day out in the wild doing nothing.
And speaking of doing nothing after 3 straight hours of surveying the deep woods, I decided that it was time for a well-deserved break. I gave Epona three pats to the side of her neck, and suddenly we went from speeds that made us look like a huge blur to a moderate paced trot across the semi-bumpy grassy terrain.
Now we were on the hunt for a forest clearing.
Forest clearings were the best.
No really.
Most of my time on my journey was mostly in the wild to focus on training and scavenging for foods. So, I needed areas that were wide, unassuming, away from trees where pokémon could hide in/behind to ambush us and give a clear perfect view of the entire perimeter. They were just that good for a camp spot.
And they were just that good for a convenient pit stop.
As I dismounted Epona, most of my party chose to converge at the clearing we found. Sparrow dutifully descended with about as much grace as one with his large wingspan could and Kidd emerged from my shadow with an "innocent" smile…before materializing a pie from nowhere to throw at Sparrow's face. The ensuing chaos of squawks, maniacal laughter, and furious screeching filled the area as Sparrow furiously pecked his super sharp beak at the mischievous Ghost pokémon, who was tap-dancing through the onslaught of attacks without a care in the world.
Watching my two idiots squabble amongst each other, I felt some dread begin to form in my gut. "That pie came from the cafe…didn't it?" Welp looks like I'm going to have to "forget" I ever saw that and convince Kidd to never reveal that to mom, otherwise we'd both be in some deep shit.
I chose to lock that in the vault of my mind and call out to the only pokémon who wasn't amongst us. "Kamina? Kamina!? It's okay to come out now! It's snack time!"
…
…
…
Seriously, pal? I love you dedication, but this is getting a little too much.
So, with a heavy sigh, I reached deep into my backpack and pulled out an extremely thick "Iron supplement" energy bar and chucked it as deep into the forest as I could. No sound of it hitting the ground meant that Kamina either caught it or some nosey wild pokémon beat him to it.
I shrugged. That's the way he wanted it, so who am I to stop him.
Looking at the only pokémon out of their ball, who was watching this was so much humor, I groaned. "What? You're not going to act out too, are you?" Epona snorted in my face causing me to flinch and soon afterward I laughed as she affectionately licked my cheek. "Okay, okay, you're the exception!"
Rummaging through my bag, I gathered the last of the pokéfood that I made a few weeks ago and placed a good amount in three bowls for my three that were out in the clearing. I sure hope that energy bar lasts you Kamina because you're missing out. Epona and Sparrow took the utmost delight in slowly devouring their meals while Kidd scarfed his down, licked the bowl and began trying to steal from the others.
"Gen-gen-gengar~!" He quietly laughed and was relishing the thought of either indulging his hunger for food or no-goodery.
*GLARE!*
"G-Gen…" Ya done goofed Gengar, you're first mistake was choosing to steal from Epona first. Heh, if there's anything that my time with Daisy has taught is that you don't steal food from a hungry woman, less you scorn and earn her full ire. Now she was going to be watching him like a hawk to ensure he wouldn't be stealing from anyone else's bowls or my backpack.
Throughout the perfectly serene snack time, I was finally given the time to relax, unwind, and go through my old training journal. A burst of nostalgia hit me as I flipped through the first pages of the old, overly stuffed booklet. The first page couple of pages mostly detailed my one and only starter and best friend, Asch.
His entry held loads of notes in regard to his eating habits, favorite types of berries, his Modest nature, the moves available to him and notes on how to further advance those moves
Asch's move set: Scratch, Growl, Ember
Scratch - Metal Claw: Toughen up Asch's claws by having him repeatedly dig his claws into a couple of boulders until a result is found. Note to self: Find some boulders in Viridian Forest pronto. [EXTREMELY vital for Pewter Gym battle].
Growl - Howl [Inconclusive]; Roar [Success!]: Instead of projecting a threatening signal outward, have Asch invigorate himself with a rallying howl to boost his strength. …Easier said than done, after 3 weeks of failure to see increase in physical stats, the strength of Growl instead adapted to an effective Roar. Scared off an entire nest of annoying Beedrill. [Note to Self: Write in new entry for Recent Capture: Dartz and the Weedles].
And after that was the Ember branch of moves that successfully escalated to Flame Burst, Flame Charge, Flamethrower, and etcetera. I frowned at the colossal failure of teaching him Fire Wheel. I thought that having him use Flame Charge and continually do somersaults would do the trick. Except we ended up with some poor results and nearly burning down the forest.
On the bright side, he was super dizzy from the ordeal and when we practiced his Flamethrower, the energies within him were spiraling from his disorientation and thus he learned Fire Spin as a result. So, yay for happy accidents.
I lounged back and relaxed in the warm undercarriage of Rapidash's torso as she laid behind me, occasionally looking over my shoulder into my journal or keeping an eye on Kidd who was probably trying to jack more pokéfood from my bag. Last I glanced up, Sparrow was busy surveying the area on a nearby dead tree like the diligent pokémon that he was, and Kamina was still doing his whole thing in the woods being 10 times as diligent as Sparrow.
Going through a little deeper in the book, I flipped past the entries of my other pokémon, hastily scribbled notes, and the occasional "experiment" that I had cooking up in my brain.
"Comparison: Theoretical Alolan and Cinnabar Island Sunrays" [Consult Mr. Blaine for any visible changes every other month]
"Determination: How many Rainy Dances could produce enough Thunderstorms that would make enough electricity to power a city?"
"Attorney at Law, Paula Justice; Viridian City…Phone Number is…"
"-wo Tactics and Strategies: Harness "Blaze" ability, increase Asch's stamina, invest more training in
"Crunch", consider using more than Asch (?)
I really was stingy about buying a new journal. Heh, I flipped open a page that had a loose-leaf paper stapled to it. Detailing all the new diets that Leonardo would need as a last-minute capture before my eighth gym badge and League Conference. Might have to update it now since he's made his expressive tastes known to me.
…
…
…
After penning that down, I shut my journal, took a deep breath in then out, and opted to lay my head back down onto Epona's comfortably warm side. The Rapidash huffed and chose to lay her head to rest on a soft patch of grass, cognizant not to let her fiery mane graze it.
…
…
…
I blinked and watched the clouds above in the sky listlessly floating away. No care in the world for them, huh?
…
…
…
…
A real shame that I can't fall asleep out here. Even I know from personal experience how stupid it is to try that without a proper tent. Sure, my pokémon would protect me, but they don't need all that undue stress. The patrol was mundane, which was good since no trouble means that no one gets hurt.
Plus, it was peaceful.
Well, about as peaceful as you could except when surrounded by a bunch of magical murder beasts, but I got over that niggling concern ages ago. Relishing the sound of nature around us, I decided now to enjoy the slice of carrot cake that I saved from work the other day. I only ate three bites until I had to give some to a drooling Kidd and a very interested Epona, who kept nudging my shoulder. Like a complete idiot, I looked over my shoulder to easily melt at those pleading pools of crimson adorableness that she called eyes.
It wasn't fair, Rapidash weren't even capable of learning Baby-Doll Eyes. So, I cracked and gave her half of my cake's slice while I just gave the other half to Kidd just to spare myself the trouble. Last time I didn't share with him, he kept pulling chairs out from under me whenever I tried sitting down. Now with all of the energy I gained from what little of my cake that I managed to eat, I signaled for everyone to gather back into formation.
Pulling out my map and compass, I triangulated our next destination to the northwestern portion of the forest, Pallet Peaks. The Peaks were a successful mountain range that was used during the first Great Pokémon War as a solid defense against the invading forces of Johto.
Now it was just another habitat for pokémon to graze around and make their home. Prof. Oak made sure to remind the most headstrong of us new trainers to steer clear of the old outpost there. He wouldn't elaborate, but would just emphasize the danger that lurks there, and that not even the local Pokémon Rangers saw fit to even brave the depths of the decommissioned base.
Despite the danger, I just…wanted to investigate the area and ensure that everything was okay. Who knows, I might just find someone who might be in a tough jam. Or caught in an accident with no around for miles to help them…
…
…
I smacked my lips and shakily laughed. "So, let's go."
"Gar!" I shuddered as Kidd slipped back into my shadow. Mentally encouraging myself to get used to it, I hopped myself back onto my saddle atop Epona and looked to Sparrow, who was doing some last second preening of his feathers before preparing to take off into the sky.
But a quick wave of my hand stopped his ascent once I spotted the shadow of a distinct pokémon get into view above us. It came down too hot, before stopping midflight just to circle around the clearing in the air. When squinting my eyes past the harsh glare of the sun failed, I slid my goggles down to catch a better look and the sight of the Flygon was all it took for me to realize the identity of its owner.
"Fea-Fearow!" Having another pokémon in the skies above us with a possible advantage was fraying on my Fearow's nerves. I raised a placating hand up to Sparrow, never lowering it on the off chance that my guess was wrong. In a blur, the Flygon descended from the sky and with a powerful beat of their wings, steadied their landing and sent up a vicious cloud of dust and dirt. Sparrow being the overprotective papa bird that he was, dispersed the cloud of dirty debris with a powerful flick of his wings before it could even reach us. I made a mental note to make him more treats when we returned home as thanks.
"Hello there!" Exclaimed the gruff looking man wearing the standard orange Pokémon Ranger uniform.
"Ranger Gabe." I did my best to rasp my prepubescent voice. "Snooping as usual, I see." I smirked.
The older man blinked and rubbed his scruffy chin. "Is that supposed to be a reference because I don't quite follow."
I waved him off. "It's an inside joke, you probably wouldn't understand." Besides, it was basically two media references from a different plane of existence. So, wracking your brain over it wasn't worth the trouble.
"I've given up trying to understand your brand of humor for years kid." The local ranger of our area grunted as he dismounted is Flygon. "Among other things…" He gave me a quick glance before rolling his eyes in clear exasperation.
"Hey…" I snapped my fingers and gestured to my extravagant attire. "Don't hate just because you're relegated to those rough fatigues of yours."
"Hate?" I held back a snort of laughter with how out of depth the man was with my generation's slang. C'mon man, you're 29, you're not that old to be this out of touch.
"Being jealous, Mr. Gabe." I rolled my eyes and had Epona trot around him. The poor lass was getting impatient from the sudden clop blocking (that didn't sound sexual, did it?) that our sudden chat was subjecting her to. "It means being jealous."
"Oh!" He blinked then scrunched up his nose. "Oh. Hell no, why would I be jealous that you're wearing sweatpants?"
"Because they're comfy and I'm lazy." I shrugged.
"They're also too baggy, which leads to them getting snagged to branches, nipped and easily grabbed by the wild pokémon, weigh heavily should you get doused in water…"
"Eh, I'd say the benefits outweigh the costs." I stopped him before he could continue his "hating" of my style.
"The facts literally say otherwise."
Huh, I really do wonder where Kamina is. "Hey, where's Gex? He'd usually pop out the moment you'd land."
"Changing the subject only furthers my point, Luke. But if you must know, he's currently preoccupied now with supervising our three new cadets." My eyes widened and I whipped my head back to spot the proud grin on the man's face.
"Wait, are you serious?" He nodded. "But didn't they just hatch 5 months ago?" My jaw dropped as I heard the scurrying of multiple bodies emerge from a couple of nearby bushes. Once again, I had to raise my hand to stop Sparrow from diving in at our surprise guests.
"Zan Zan!"
"Zaaan~!"
"Zangoose!"
A good thing too because I wouldn't want to set my fearsome Fearow upon the three adorable little Zangoose that scurried toward us. Nor did I want to break up any conflict that would have arisen between Sparrow and the menacing Sceptile that materialized into the clearing from mid-air. Dealing with a Wild mother Ursaring was one thing, but committing infanticide toward a trained Sceptile's pack of baby pokémon was just a horrifying dilemma to fathom.
"Oh my gosh! Huey, Dewey, and Louie! It's spectacular to see all three of you again!" I laughed and hopped off of my impatient Rapidash's back to happily be assailed by a rambunctious mess of fluffy, cuddly, adorable little kitty-mongoose pokémon. Laughter just flooded out of me as the trio of excitable Zangoose dogpiled me and crawled all over my supine form. Getting nuzzled, sniffed, and occasionally nibbled on just made my experience all the more heartening.
Heck, even Kidd decided to join in on the fun by popping out of my shadow to also get smothered by the Zangoose. We were just having a great time, him and I. Oh, and Kamina did return by the way. Apparently, the honorable doof was busy assisting Gex, Gabe's Sceptile, with the task of watching over the little ones when they accidentally crossed paths.
My earlier frustration with his silence and refusal to be called was quelled with this information. Good, Kamina, protect the babies. Show no quarter to anyone who would dare to bring these three good boys to harm! Cut them to shreds!
…I'm beginning to think I've imprinted myself onto them a little too hard, but could you blame me? Gabe gave me permission to name them once they hatched as a pleasant surprise for making it to the Finals of the Indigo League. I tried convincing him to let me rename his Sceptile to be Donald, but he wouldn't budge.
Oh, right.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Introductions for the big guy are in order. This was Lieutenant Gabe Geller, the husband to Mary Geller the sweet Pokémon Breeder who works over at Prof. Oak's Lab, and partner to Private Rachel Acres. Born and raised in Hoenn's very own Petalburg City, he captured his starter and took on the Hoenn Gym Circuit at 13, then went on to take on the Ever Grande Conference at 15 years old and placed among the Top 8 before getting knocked out. Seeking for more out of his life than just being a pokémon trainer, he joined the Hoenn Region's own regiment of Pokémon Rangers at 16 years old as a humble Private.
To establish better relations and collaboration between the three regions of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, the Hoenn League relocated a couple of their promising recruits to Kanto and Johto regions and vice versa for the Indigo League's region's own troops. Though many today would cite that Kanto provided most of the bulk of their rangers to Hoenn than Johto, I never much cared to delve too deep into the constant squabbling of our two regions.
But yeah, that's how Mr. Gabe ended up here at 17 after getting further training at the main Ranger base at Mt. Silver, and assigned the Area that he'll be watching over, which was stationed around at our quaint, humble hometown of Pallet. Which was technically a dead-end for any Rangers looking to advance their rank since literally next to nothing major happens in a town inhabited by War Veterans, retired trainers (pro or not), and the former Kanto and Indigo League Champion.
And yet somehow, Mr. Gabe managed to rank up twice during his vigilant watch of the wild areas around town. Then he got married to Mrs. Mary and earned extra help and a "close" subordinate in Rachel. So, yeah, he's lived quite a life
Now as for why, I know all this information about him. Well, my…father was technically the reason why he earned his first rank up to Sergeant. Gabe's been a close friend to our family since…I've been born in this new life. So, he's like an uncle that's been with us through the good and…especially the bad.
He was the most insistent to provide our family support after the incident at Pallet Peaks, and picked up where my wildlife, self-defense, and camping etiquette training were halted due to said incident. He's also the very first person to have beaten Asch and I in a battle. Of course, it was the day that I received Asch as my Starter, so the result was obvious from the start, but I never forgot how fun it was to finally face him in battle.
Especially against a trainer with a fully evolved starter like Sceptile. The gap in strength gave me a good milestone to strive for and perfect estimation on how to gauge the strengths of the trainers that I would battle later down the line.
Without his help, I don't think I would have been nearly as ready to handle my journey.
"So, what has you out of bed so early, Luke? In fact, aren't you supposed to be helping your mother down at her café? At least that's what Rachel told me." Gabe decided that it was appropriate to give his team a quick rest and so I decided to prolong the little break I had with my own. We still chose to stand while we talked since, we couldn't dally here all day.
The pokémon kept themselves preoccupied with themselves. Sparrow and Gabe's Flygon were mostly observing each other, neither of them really communicating, but simply more comfortable with observing the other's wings. Perhaps they wanted to see which of the two was faster? Who knows.
Kidd and the trio of little Zangoose were still playing amongst themselves. Normal types may not be as effective against Ghost types, but the trio of kitty-mongoose pokémon were certainly doing super effective damage against the laughing Gengar's failing defenses against their cute innocence.
Epona still impatient, was stomping around the forest clearing, occasionally sending me a glance every now and then as if to ask "Are you done yet?". Each time I shook my head, she huffed and continued her tireless trotting. What can I say, the girl loves to run.
As for Kamina and Gex, well…
The pair were standing a few feet away from us, arms crossed and silently looking at each other.
"…"
"…"
"Scizor?" For a brief moment, Kamina's eyes widened before his stoicism once more reared it's head, although with a bit of a lift of his tone in question.
"Tile." Gex grunted with a solemn nod.
"Sci…" Kamina nodded, and the pair returned to their silent conversation. These two getting along didn't surprise me the first time they met and neither does it now. They were really cut from the same cloth I tell you.
Turning my attention back to Gabe's earlier question, I shrugged. "I was, but I chose to take the day off to come out here. Besides, it's a day off for the pokéschool today, so I don't have to stress over picking Ash up." Because that little rascal is still serving out his punishment by being grounded at home. He begged me to take him with me on my patrol, but I denied it.
I would have caved in when he started begging on his knees since I'm such a good older brother like that, but no. I don't want my own punishment getting worse just because I snuck him out. Besides, am I also a good brother for not helping my brother shirk his punishment?
"Ah, that little rascal Ash. Knowing that restless little Furret, he's probably having the worst day cooped up at home." Gabe stroked his bearded chin, amusement ridden in his tone.
"Not really, he gets to spend all day with Asch and Sylvie, so it's not going to be THAT bad for him." I elaborated while keeping a vigilant watch of the forest around us. One could never be too careful, even with so many of your own pokémon around. "He was especially elated to know that he'll have free reign to feed and groom my pokémon while I was gone."
Gabe raised an incredulous eyebrow at that. "And you're fine with that?"
I coughed. "He might screw up with feeding them the right portions, but I trust him to properly handle the basic body care necessary for them."
It was basic trainer 101 to treat your pokémon well. A well-groomed pokémon was a super happy pokémon that would obliterate any enemy that stood in your way. Grooming, bathing, and tending to the needs of your pokémon were the straightforward and surefire way to gain their affection. I had to beat this into Ash's head since beyond the prospect of watching and understanding cool pokémon battles, his bedside care left a lot to be desired.
"It's nice to know you have so much faith in your little bro." Gabe chuckled.
"More like I trust my pokémon to behave." At least for Asch, Sylvie was another case entirely. Unless I was doing it, she absolutely hated getting groomed by anyone else, especially Ash. He soured her opinion towards the idea when he once brushed her so hard that he took off a tuft of her abdomen's fur. Which hurt her a lot.
Now is his chance to redeem himself and for Sylvie to go through her punishment for growling at mom the other day. Things may get a little crazy, but I'm sure nothing crazy will happen with my absence. Still, they had better not go into my room and make a mess.
"So enough about me, Gabe. What has you out on patrol over on this side of the forest?" I asked, stuffing my hands into my pocket.
"Other than doing my duty?" Okay, wise guy, you know what I meant.
"Besides that." I waved him off.
He crossed his arms and gave me a suspicious look. "You make it sound like you're going to come along if I tell you."
I cheekily smiled and raised a finger. "Only if we're heading the same direction, so technically it'd be a happy accident if I just so happened to be around to help when doing your duty, good sir."
"That's only if you were heading in the direction of Pallet Peaks." He narrowed his eyes. "Were you?"
"Of course." I crossed my arms and smirked. "It was part of my agenda to go there and check how things are in case there's some trouble that needs fixing. After all you should know…" I did my best to suppress that numb ache in my chest. "I like to be thorough when scoping that place out."
I found the tree in the distance more interesting at the moment than noticing Gabe wince at the verbal landmine I had intentionally set off.
…
…
I'm fine, really.
I felt the comforting hand of the ranger plop itself atop my head. "Tch, why can't you be obnoxious and reckless like the other kids, so that I can have a valid reason to keep you out of things?
"Because I'm not Joey?" That got a good laugh out of the guy.
"That is absolutely true…" He wiped a tear from his eye and coughed. Officially going from cool, Uncle Gabe to serious, responsible Gabe. "If we're going the same way as you said, then allow me to brief you on our way there."
With a sharp whistle, his team of pokémon gathered around him as did my own once I made a signal for them to follow. Five minutes later, Gabe and I were riding our respective pokémon through the tail end of the northwestern forest. Me on Epona and him on his Dodrio as both of our flying pokémon took to being our eyes in the sky.
The trio of young Zangoose diligently tried to keep pace with us by traversing through the trees while Kamina and Gex were no where to be seen nor heard. Though knowing their style for staying within the shadows, they probably weren't very far from us, especially the infantile trio of pokémon.
"There've been reports of seismic activity around the base of the mountain that have been correlating with conflicts beginning to spread inland into the forest!" Gabe shouted through the strong winds beating against us from our individual rides' fast running. "Just the other day, Rachel and I had subjugated and relocated a Golem that was disturbing a troop of Mankey."
"A Golem!?" I shouted out in surprise. Those guys were only found in the mountains and would dare step foot in a forest filled with their natural enemies of grass and fighting types.
Gabe nodded. "Weird, ain't it!? We've been dealing with occurrences like this for months now. Last week a hiker almost got caught in an avalanche of Graveler! He was lucky to come out of it with only a broken arm and some bruising" I grimaced and gave my condolences to the poor guy, but hey, he survived which wasn't that common when dealing with the natural disaster of the free-falling Graveler that just love to roll down and free fall off mountainsides.
Still, this was far too irregular to simply write off as some colossal incident. "They're being forced off the mountain?"
"Bingo!"
"But why!?" I took a moment to think about it before a deep frown etched itself onto my brow. "You think it's Poachers!?"
"Unlikely, we've taken stock of the population and found no visible decrease in the Rhyhorn, Geodude, Graveler, and Cubone population! Plus, the tremors and fleeing of the rock pokémon are too irregular for it to be a coordinated attack! No, it must be the "Tyrant of the Peaks" that's the cause of this!"
I gulped at the mention of essentially the boogeyman of Pallet Peaks.
Unlike the "King of the Forest" over at Viridian Forest, the "Tyrant of the Peaks" was WAY more aggressive around basically anyone in their vicinity. Pokémon in the wild who were given nicknames were a clear indicator of their overall infamy in their established territories. To put it into perspective, they were essentially the Pokémon Legends of Arceus' equivalent of an Alpha Pokémon, but without the whole Girantina opening space-rifts that buffed up pokémon.
So basically, they're like if an Elite or Champion leveled trainer released one of their elite level pokémon into the wild to return to fending for themselves and reverting back to their primal roots.
These creatures are deemed a serious threat and are heavily enforced by the Pokémon Rangers to stop and arrest any trainers seeking to confront one in their area. Because screwing with the top dog of the area's food chain was bound to leave a colossal impact on the local ecology. Gabe even stated that "Tyrant of the Peaks" was more docile than his female counterpart in Mt. Silver which required an entire 15-man troop of Pokémon Rangers just to stave off her tantrums until she peers out.
"So what? Are we just going to have to stroll up the mountain and figure out his reason for kicking so many pokémon out!?"
"For now, WE will be focusing on subduing any misplaced Rock pokémon on the ground. Matters pertaining to what happens on the mountain will be handled by Rachel and I." He brokered no argument with that, and I couldn't but begrudgingly sigh.
Fine, it was his patrol, and guessing how hectic it was, I doubt he'd allow clearance for me to freely fly up there and do my own personal patrol.
"You got it, sir." I nodded.
Emerging from the depths of the forest cleared our overall periphery but in return, we were met with the steep and vast stone walls of Pallet Peaks. Trying to look up to even see the peak was a bother, and that's not even factoring in the glare of the rising sun.
"So which way do we go?" Epona and I shambled up closer to Gabe and his mount.
"…" He silently rubbed his beard in contemplation before snapping his fingers. "We'll begin our search by going to east, then we'll circle back here to resume towards the west."
"Can't we just split up to cover more ground?" It seemed logical.
"Sticking together ensures the safety of the group and higher numbers ensure less risk of separation and injury." So, in summation, he's keeping a close eye on me, so no unfortunate accidents happen.
I appreciated the gesture, but no. "Gabe, look, I'm not going to jump ship and fly up the mountain. Nor am I just going to get hurt out here." I rolled my eyes and led Epona eastward much to Gabe's chagrin as a stark "Hey!" rang out. "It's not my first rodeo out here in wild, you know. Plus, we both have numbers on our side." I tapped my belt and all 6 of my pokéballs. "We'll be fine. If anything, it'll be more beneficial to corral as many pokémon as we can before any more trouble arises."
"…" Gabe opened his mouth once or twice to refute me but found my reasoning to be sound. After all, it was just him here. Private Rachel was keeping an eye on a couple of kids, who chose this day off to search and capture their Starter pokémon in the wild.
"…Fine." He reached into his pocket and threw a portable radio at me. "Should anything happen, click the button and contact me. Don't change the frequency otherwise you'll call Rachel instead of me. Understood?"
I had to resist the urge to groan. Even though I'm a legal trainer, age really does stick around to bite you in the butt. "Understood, Gabe." I seriously saluted him. No games, no wisecracks. Nothing.
I may have to put up with the occasional attitudes now that I'm back to being a kid, but I understand that Gabe was only looking out for me. Also, the other trainers in my age group really poisoned the well for everyone by being reckless and jumping into things headfirst. Being hot-blooded can be a valuable trait to have, but there's a time and place for it.
"Good." He nodded. "Then good luck and stay safe, kid."
"You too, sir."
Lightly kicking the sides of our mounts, we went our separate ways. I felt signs of slight tremoring five minutes during my own trek, but they came from the opposite direction that I was heading. "Looks like he's going to have a lot on his plate off the bat."
It took me ten more minutes of running along the eastern walls of mountain base to finally encounter some evidence of recent activity. I dismounted Epona and inspected the craters that decimated and littered the tough earth. Each crater was moderately deep and held chunks of granite and limestone in them.
Proves that a pack of Graveler fell here, but it doesn't exactly tell me when they dropped from the mountain.
Epona's sudden crooning broke me out of my thoughts. "What is it, girl?" I walked right over to her as she now stood a fair bit away from where I last left her. Now she was standing much closer to the forest and toeing something with one of her hooves.
Huh.
"A footprint." I pulled out my pokédex and pulled up Graveler's entry to check for similarities in the footprints. It came out to be a complete match. "But does it lead anywhere…?" My eyes stayed glued on the screen of my pokédex.
Huh? Epona nudged me and gave me a…why was she looking at me like that? I blinked and followed where her head was nudging to oh…
A track of footprints and smushed bushes just a little further ahead in the woods.
"Shut up." I didn't bother to look my smug fire horse in the eye, and I certainly didn't acknowledge my own shadow obnoxiously laughing at my expense.
And once more I took off on Epona's back and traversed the woods, following the big old tracks left behind by my targets. The softer footing of the woods made it a little harder to distinguish some of the footsteps since other pokémon who inhabit the forest may have dirtied or covered them up with their own. Still, I noticed more distressing clues in the form of fallen and uprooted trees, and deep grooves along the ground that implied that a Rollout move was used.
But the most distressing pieces of evidence I could have found were on the fallen trees.
Deep gashes on the upper trunk and weak, shallow claw marks on the bottom of it. The tell-tale sign of a nearby Ursaring mother and her cub.
"Oh, this isn't good." The sound of an explosion rocked the vicinity that had me trying to keep my footing. "Neither is that…" I lightly whistled and slowed our advance towards the source of the noise. The extensive damage done to the forest was a foreboding breadcrumb trail that led to a disconcerting scenery of violence and sheer desperation.
Trees were obliterated and the landscape torn apart by the ferocious butchering that a lone Ursaring was inflicting upon a pack of Graveler. Though the numbers were on their side, the rock pokémon were certainly not having an easy fight. I noted a couple of Graveler that were knocked out with huge chunks of their shell blown off, along with a few that were covered in soot and undeniably down for the count.
Wait, hold on…
I examined the pokémon and the state of the Ursaring much closely while obscured by what little was left of the surrounding trees and bushes. Burns, so many burns and bruises covered the body of the mother Ursaring and her cub…
I winced and immediately pulled out two empty pokéballs from my backpack's side pocket.
These Graveler picked a picked a fight and once they were on the ropes, a couple chose to simply sacrifice themselves to bring low the physically superior enemy through Explosion. Multiple times!
That wasn't supposed to be a move you can shrug off!
But knowing the Ursaring, she couldn't allow herself to stop now. Not with her cub so close and fatally injured from taking the leftover brunt of the surprise attack. Ursaring may have the Guts ability to get them out of a bind when they are on their last leg, but should they keep going beyond their limits for way longer than their body can naturally hold out, then they'll die of exhaustion!
Now was the time to step in, but first.
I turned on my walkie-talkie. "Gabe?"
"Huh, Luke? Is everything okay on your end? I just managed to finish subduing a couple of stray Graveler and surprisingly a Golem. There was even a Rhydon that showed up, but that took care of itself. Did you also bring along your-?"
No time for chit-chat. "Ursaring. Mother and her cub. Surrounded by Fourteen Graveler. Four out of the Fourteen have already been-!" I winced and grit my teeth as the Ursaring released a resounding Hyper Beam. "Five out of the Fourteen have already been defeated. Tediursa has been severely damaged after getting caught in the radius of an Explosion. Mother Ursaring is on her last legs. Beginning to engage, over."
"Wait, what? Luke, wait for me to get ther-!" I ended the transmission and immediately jumped into the fray with two of my remaining pokéballs in hand as a plan of action began to form in my mind.
The Wild Card.
In a conflict between two parties, their focus is solely on the other. However, that dynamic is broken should another place their lot in the middle of the conflict. The element of surprise was more than a welcome stratagem in any trainer's book.
Which is why I wanted to hit this problem hard and fast before it escalates. So embroiled in their conflict against each other that neither the Mother Ursaring nor the pack of Graveler realized I was even there, emerging from the bushes with two of the latter pokémon's natural enemies.
"Lenny! Leonardo! I choose you!" My dutiful Squirtle gracefully landed in a shinobi-like bow that my Scizor no doubt taught him to while Lenny simply landed with a loud thump, looked about the place, spotted me and joyously began to whip his vines over to me for a hug.
Now was not the time.
*SNAP!*
I snapped my fingers gaining both of their undivided attention along with informing the battling pokémon of our presence. Superb…
"Guys, focus!" I pointed ahead of them. Leonardo nodded and seriously regarded the pack of Graveler that were now locked in between the Guts empowered Ursaring and their natural type advantaged enemies of a Water and Grass type. Lenny simply just blinked and tilted his head. Ugh, I love the big dope, but he can be a bit hard to get up to speed.
"Lenny just give those Graveler as many hugs as you want." I could only sigh in exhaustion as my Tangrowth went and did just that. Those thick vines of his promptly snatched up two Gravelers and brought them into a crushing friendly hug. The two rock pokémon obviously didn't enjoy it as they groaned and grunted against the sheer strength of the Tangrowth's powerful vines. The strain was more than enough to begin cracking their thick earthen shells.
"Grav! Graveler!" "Graaaaaaaav!"
Looks like a couple of their number chose to split off and decide to handle us while the rest returned to harassing the berserk Ursaring. With three Rollouts heading our way, I took command of my combat ready turtle.
"Leo, use Hydro Pump to redirect the course of their attacks!"
The impressive force of the Squirtle's pressurized blast of H2O may not have been as ridiculously as powerful as Tempest's, but it was still a remarkable feat for someone of his size. Plus, his technical handling of it was superb. It was even enough to cause two out of three of the Graveler to unfurl from their spherical forms just to not get endure the painful sensation of water. The Graveler that did endure the attack was still redirected midroll to crash into a tree just behind me.
Now that we avoided getting mowed down. It was time to kick them while they were down.
"Go have fun, Kidd!"
"Gengar~!" My Gengar, who's excited laughter that sent chills down the spines of those weak of heart, emerged from my shadow and beset himself upon the Graveler that crashed into the tree. Ah, he was going for the good old Sucker Shadow Punch combo. His sadism aside, I applaud him for choosing not to play with heisenemy.
*THUD!* *THUD!*
"Growth?" Ah, looks like Tangrowth was done squeezing the life out of those two Gravelers. I'm sure they'll really reflect on what they did and regenerate their broken shells after this. Still those other two soaked Graveler need to be subdued and fast because they looked pissed.
One was already beginning to prep a Rock Throw, in my direction. I prepared to give an order for Leonardo pummel the admittedly clever Graveler with an Aqua Tail, but it looked like his Sensei beat him to the punch.
In a blur of red, The Graveler was beset upon by a flurry of steel-energy imbued claws that just pummeled the daylight out of them. In the moment that it took for me to blink, Kamina had already done away with the Graveler threatening me and was already making quick work of the other with a vicious flurry of Bullet Punches.
"Thanks, Kamina." I chuckled.
"Squirtle!" Leo nodded and gazed at the Scizor in admiration.
"Zor!"
"Sq-squirt!" Too bad, he has such a strict teacher.
But more importantly, Ursaring! The bear pokémon held their guard tight as the remaining four Graveler decided that close combat was pointless, and decided to whittle her down with Stone Edge. It was working, but the Ursaring wouldn't budge, not with their cub at death's door behind her.
"High Horsepower and Drill Run!"
The three Graveler didn't even see it coming, the two Graveler attacking from the back were brutally blown away by my Rapidash's mad charge. Seeing this, the lone Graveler that was front and center jumped in surprise and in a panic prepared to redirect the super effective Stone Edge from the Ursaring at Epona, before thusly getting blindsided by Sparrow's spiraling, unrelenting might.
The ground shook as a cloud of smoke arose and cleared to reveal my valiant Fearow's form standing on the drilled and cracked form of the unmoving Graveler.
"Good job you two!" I congratulated my two rider pokémon for their patience and initiative. I didn't go all in with everyone at the beginning because that would just lead to a messy free for all that would divide my attention everywhere. So, until I gave the signal, both of them remained on standby, and chose to take the best positions in lieu of my command.
And just like all of the Graveler were subdued and perfectly battered to be captured and shipped to the Pokémon Center. The immediate issue was now resolved.
"RIIIIIIIIIIIING!" Crap that's right, help or no help, we're still considered strangers to this furious Ursaring, and right now it wanted to wipe us out with a hyper beam. A BIG hyper beam. She was either too out of it to notice she was reaching her limit or just couldn't fully distinguish our threat level to her from the pain of all her wounds.
"Everyone save for Lenny and Sparrow fall back!" I cried out and every one of my pokémon complied to my order. I took note that the impending Hyper Beam was now the size of a beachball, and still growing!
"Allergy Season: SP PLUS!"
Taking wings, Sparrow danced through the air and stopped mid-flight to emerge above Lenny, who was furiously rocking his body to and fro to unleash then a bevy of blue spores that began to spread throughout the area. I pulled a mask from out my pocket and tightly shut my eyes, but thankfully before the spores could reach us, Sparrow batted his powerful wings to generate a powerful gale of wind to direct the full potency of the spores at the attacking Ursaring.
"U-Ursa…" Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep! Please, please go to sleep! "R-Ring…"
*THUD!*
The Hyper Beam fizzled and the Bear pokémon was promptly sedated.
"Phew." I breathed out in relief and motioned for Sparrow to Whirlwind away the rest of the spores. With everything now settled, I was briefly given the chance to prepare to capture and transporting all of the wild pokémon to get looked at. Giving the old professor some forewarning, I texted him and Daisy the specific amount of pokémon about to be transferred to the lab, the reason why I captured them and the varying degrees of injuries that each of them have.
As a sponsored trainer, if I go beyond the registered limit of six pokémon that I'm carrying then they'll be automatically sent to my registered stables, Prof. Oak's laboratory. It's sort of a preprogramed function of the pokéballs to do this, which is why it's crucial to have your Stable's barcode memorized or with you whenever you make a pokeball purchase.
Of course trainers who don't have a sponsorship or any stables can carry all of their pokémon with them, but in public they must be shown to carry a total of six less they get a considerable fine of 25,000 pokédollars.
I don't necessarily care for having so many pokémon on me since it means less cost and the six pokémon rule was naturally fine with me. The games pretty much encouraged me to make do with what I can carry. Plus, I always have my own little portable PC system on me. Just one click of the "PC" button, and all of the recorded pokémon that I've captured pops up and I can exchange one of them that's on the farm for one the pokémon here.
They'll automatically be recalled into their pokeball and transferred over to me, no matter the distance. Sad that the manual recalling of a pokémon to their pokeball can't work this way, but thems the breaks. Still, it was much preferable to call the professor and give him and my pokémon some forewarning of the transfer to ensure that whoever I choose is fully prepared to be transferred and not pulled from whatever they're doing without some warning.
And that's only one of the awesome features of the pokédex, which are admittedly bullshit in the ways of utility.
I specified the pokémon that all the Graveler weren't of any interest to me and requested that after their treatment they'd be given to either Gabe or Rachel to return them to their habitat. For the Ursaring and Tediursa though, I left that for undecided for now. I preferred to capture a pokémon in their initial first stage of an evolution so I can fill in their pokédex entry fully over time, and better acquaint myself to their individual style of battle and personality.
Though that Ursaring did get me interested when I used my pokédex to take a glance at her parameters and known moves: Hammer Arm, Metal Claw, Rest, Scary Face, Fury Swipes, Thrash, and Hyper Beam.
That was a fairly above average move pool to have, and that sheer tenacity wasn't one to overlook either. I dunno, maybe it's because its been a while since I've last seen a berserk mother Ursaring protect her young, but I can't deny that it has me thinking for some future ideas. Still, I would just prefer to capture the Tediursa and train it up to an Ursaring.
Oh well, until they're fully healed, I can't make the offer for them to join my team without seeming inconsiderate of their plight if I gave them no choice. If I haven't proven myself to the Ursaring in battle, then it's likely that she won't accept me capturing her and her cub. Still didn't hurt to be somewhat optimistic about it though.
"Luke, I'm here! Is everything okay…?"
Gabe, who in a panic emerged into the area, blinked to the scene of me surrounded by my pokémon. Kamina was too busy scolding Leo, who diligently sat in the seiza position; Epona was impatient from the battle and itching for a run, so she returned to trotting around everyone else; Sparrow was preening his feathers, uncaring of the pokémon ranger's sudden appearance; and Kidd was busy trying to escape one of Lenny's hugs.
"Yup, everything's secure, Gabe." I saluted the man with a smile.
Then came the briefing, a light scolding for rushing into the heat of conflict, a proud congratulations for properly handling said conflict and remaining safe, and some very important news from Gabe's side of the patrol.
"Macaque was what?" I glowered as we walked up Route 1 with the setting sun at our backs. I was pretty much done with my little excursion into the woods, so Gabe decided to walk me back after we got a couple more patrols in.
"So, I guess you really didn't send him after me to act as backup." Gabe sheepishly laughed.
Apparently that Rhydon that Gabe mentioned over the radio was blitzed by my raging pokémon that just so happened to cross his path, Yujiro Hanma style.
"Of course not." I grumbled. "He's supposed to be sulking somewhere at the Professor's lab. What's he doing all the way out here?"
Gabe shrugged. "Who knows, maybe he got restless back at the Sanctuary."
Yeah, without telling anyone of his absence. Ugh, I'm really going to have a talk with him soon…
"Probably." I stewed over that for a while, but Gabe broke my deep thinking with more news.
"For a moment, I thought I saw you in the area, but it must have been my imagination since you contacted me right after. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me."
I chuckled, "Yep, it must be your old age catching up with yo-douh!" I rubbed the spot on my head the man smacked.
"Not funny." Gabe grunted. "So, with this day coming to an end, what's going to be the rest of your plans for the night? I'll have to go back and make report before checking in on the status of all of the pokémon we reigned in, but right now I'm free for a quick battle if you're up for it."
"Tempting…" Asch and I have been secretly dying to redeem ourselves of our first loss against Gabe's Sceptile. "But I'd rather just go home and rest now." I stretched and yawned. "Will probably need as much energy tomorrow since I'm skipping work at the café again."
"Really what for?"
I winked. "Well since I can't go back to lazing the day away, I figured that I catch up on some of the stuff I left on pause for a while. Don't worry, when we're ready for that battle, you'll know."
"Heh, then we'll be waiting Luke." When we finally reached the front entrance to Pallet Town, we went our separate ways. All of my pokémon were returned back into their pokéballs, so it made things less hectic for me on the walk back home.
Thinking about everything that happened today, I realized just how much I could possibly do now since sleeping the days away and occasionally training my pokémon were off the table.
Macaque was an obvious issue that needed to be tackled.
However, it wouldn't hurt to make a phone call to Cinnabar Island and give Mr. Blaine a quick call.
Also, if things play out just right with that Ursaring and Tediursa, then maybe it wouldn't hurt to investigate getting some Peat. Does the Xanadu Nursery have some? It would be nice to visit the place again since it's been a while.
Might even invite Daisy and make it a quartet between her, Gary, Ash, and I. I'm sure she'll appreciate that.
"For. The. Last. Time! I am not here to play your childish games! I have come to challenge Luke Ketchum and was told that he lives here! Now is he!?"
I blinked and rubbed my chin as I neared the family house. Huh? That voice…sounds vaguely familiar.
"And for the last time, lady! You're talking to him! Because I AM Luke Ketchum, and I accept your challenge!"
Now that obnoxiously loud voice was too hard for me to ever forget.
Rounding the corner and getting into view of our front lawn I was met with the most bizarre scene ever that made literally question everything.
Did someone draw all over Asch with black marker?
Why were Gary and Blossom sitting on the front porch eating popcorn? Follow-up question, why were they covered in Persian hair and scratches?
Why's Sylvie passed out on the lawn wearing a pair of my boxers on her head?
Is Ash really wearing my baggy clothing to impersonate me and take on a challenge?
And just who's the blue-haired chick standing in front of our-?
Oh, wait, that's just Claire Blackthorn. Nevermind, compared to everything else, that's a mild surprise at best.
Still, I just couldn't believe what was unfolding before my eyes, so I just said the one thing that came to mind. "No words can describe how utterly impressed I am that you managed to cause so much trouble while being grounded at home."
That sure got everyone's attention, especially Claire's since she went straight from wanting to bite the head off my little brother to trying to kill me with an intense glare.
"Luke Ketchum…" She glowered.
"Hi." I waved.
"I-!" She opened her mouth to no doubt say something scathing to challenge me, but sad for her, she was in Ketchum territory now.
"Imposter!" Ash shrieked and dramatically pointed at me as if I were the living incarnate of all that was evil.
I smirked. "Me an Imposter? Heh, I think you're the fake Luke around here. You're comparing yourself to me? Hah! You're not even good enough to be MY fake."
"What are you even-?" Sorry, not sorry for stealing your thunder like this Claire.
"I'll make you eat those words, faker! Ngyaaaargh!" Roared Ash as he forewent any form of common sense and ran swinging at me, wildly. He might have actually done some damage to if not for the glaring height difference between us, and so there I stood perfectly unharmed with my hand outstretched to his forehead, pushing him back as he futilely tried to wail on me with his windmilling fists.
"Yeah, nice try, bud." I chuckled and turned to the blisteringly furious Claire, who's just about done with being ignored. So, I threw her a bone just to be nice. "So, you were saying?"
"Luke Ketchum, I, Claire from the Blackthorn Clan challenge you to a-!"
"Gary! Dad told me that you came over to Ash's place to play with Blossom, so I'm here to confirm if you're sleeping over tonight since tomorrow's the weekend and-! Wait, what's with the mess a-and-! C-Claire, what are you doing here!?"
Oh, and Daisy's here now!
Man, today just wasn't Claire's day was it.
Hands full with my foolish little brother, his snickering friends in the background, my gobsmacked childhood friend, and my infuriated old opponent from the Semi-finals of the Indigo Conference.
I can only wonder how exactly things reached this point with my absence.
And how long it'll take to resolve everything so I can finally crash in my bed! C'mon, I'm actually trying to save up the energy to be productive again, can't I just get some rest!?