Chapter Fifty-Two - Unjust

Jazz wasn't one to look a gift ponyta in the mouth but... that had been too easy. She smiled at gym trainer Benny and gave his hand a shake when he approached, but she knew that anyone familiar with her would have been able to tell that she wasn't really amused.

A weedle and a kakuna? That... well, one shouldn't judge pokemon based on their species alone. Yes, there was some advantage to certain pokemon, certain types even. She certainly had her bias in that regard, but school had always told her not to underestimate pokemon, no matter their species.

And there was some validity to that. She, like most people in Johto, followed the circuit and especially the Indigo League at the end of the year where all the eight-badge holders fought to the top to be able to challenge the Elite Four. Almost every year, the best teams had a few more common pokemon in them. Local favourites like pidgeots and beedrills and raticates were common on even elite teams.

Still, a weedle?

Sure, it was meant to be a second badge level but... well, Bellsprout had wiped the gym trainer's team all on his own.

She hadn't even had a reason to send out Sage or Zubat, and the fact that she didn't need all of her team... well, on the one hand it was nice to know that she had slipped ahead of the power curve, even if the gap between the first and second gym was notoriously small, but still, it felt like... like it being so easy diminished all of her hard work.

It wasn't lost. She knew that. All the work they did now might not be needed now but it would come in handy soon, when they faced the third, fourth, and so on gyms. Still...

"Did you win?" Broccoli asked when they met in the gym's lobby. Broccoli was grinning wide while hugging a very smug Marill close. Choco was atop her head, smiling his confident little bunny smile as well.

"We won," Jazz said with a nod. "I take it you didn't have any difficulty either?"

"Nope! Marill kicked butt, and Choco didn't even need his secret weapon—fireballs—to win!"

"It's not going to be very secret if you brag about it," Jazz pointed out.

Broccoli shrugged. "I don't mind if the whole world knows," she said.

"I think you and I have very different definitions of secret, then," Jazz said. "In any case... that was so easy."

"Hmm, I think we've just grown a lot," Broccoli said.

Jazz frowned as she considered that. Tabitha wasn't with them today. She said that it was a forgone conclusion and that she'd rather train Slowking. The assumption was, of course, that she'd stick around. It was kind of insulting, actually.

Tabitha hadn't asked to stick with their group at all. She'd just decided that she would, and that was that. There hadn't been a discussion.

Jazz was still conflicted about how she felt about the girl, and so decided to put her out of her mind for the moment.

Still... Tabitha said that King Krabby was around the level where she could fight for the third badge. Solo. That was impressive, and honestly on the upper end of what Jazz expected from a stronger pokemon, especially one that hadn't evolved yet. Tabitha had... well, she'd stomped Jazz.

So Jazz and her team weren't yet at that level, she was shy of the level of strength she'd need to conquer the third badge.

But did that mean that this second one should be this easy? She wasn't sure.

"You look... hmm, I can't decide what that expression means," Broccoli said. Choco spoke up above her head, a few repetitions of 'buneary' and 'bun' that Broccoli nodded. "That's possible. Choco suggested that you might need to use the washroom."

Jazz's expression went flat. "I don't need the washroom," she said.

"Hmm, then I wonder what that expression is. Lack of Vitamin H?" Broccoli asked. Jazz had a second to wonder what vitamin H was before Broccoli smiled. "It's vitamin Hug, it cures all sorts of ills. Doctor recommended!"

"What kind of doctor would actually recommend that?" she asked.

"A therapist?"

That... actually, that was concerningly plausible. "So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Jazz asked. It was still only the early-ish afternoon. Their actual match against Bugsy wasn't for another three days.

"We could just take the rest of the day off?" Broccoli suggested.

"Ma! Marill! Rill rill," Marill said. Jazz couldn't understand pokemon the way Broccoli could, but violent headshakes didn't require much translating.

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"You want to train more?" Broccoli asked.

Maril bobbed her entire body up and down as a nod. "Marill!"

"Huh, well, I guess we can do a bit more training this evening. But we'll be taking some time off to cook and eat and spend time with our friends. Practice is good, but you shouldn't turn training into your entire reason to be. It needs to be balanced."

"Broccoli's right," Jazz told Marill. "The only pokemon that train non-stop are Fighting-types and those pokemon who are preparing for something like the Indigo league. It's just not wise to push yourself past a certain limit. Not that being lazy about training is any good either."

"Marill isn't lazy," Broccoli said. "Her Bubble Beam is coming along really well, and Choco's almost mastered Fireball!"

Jazz shook her head. Bunearies with Ember. What was the world coming to?

"Bun bun!" Choco said. He waved his little paws around and small spurts of fire hissed out above them.

"Broccoli, have you given Choco any instructions about fire? If you don't teach him to keep that fire suppressed he's going to burn down the entire pokemon centre one day."

Someone cleared their throat, and Jazz turned to see who it was. Her heart immediately leapt into her throat as she recognized Officer Jenny.

"Oh, hi Officer!" Broccoli said.

"Hello, Miss Bunch, Miss Poison," the police officer said. "What was this about arson?"

"Would you believe us if we said it was nothing?" Jazz asked.

The police officer blinked. "No?"

"Bun, buneary buneary bun bun. Bun! Bun buneary," Choco explained. He made some gestures and flung out a few small bursts of fire into the air around him.

"Choco was showing off his new skill with fire," Broccoli explained. "And Jazz, being the good citizen she is, was concerned about his accidentally setting things on fire that aren't supposed to be."

"I... see. I suppose that's not illegal. Just keep any Fire-type move practice to designated practice locations, ensure that there is a functional and accredited fire extinguisher nearby, or at the very least a Water-type pokemon with moves to smother any flames, and immediately contact emergency services if a fire begins to grow out of your control."

"Okay!" Broccoli said with her signature vapid smile. "Was that what you wanted to talk to us about, Officer?"

"No, actually," Officer Jenny said. "I went to the pokemon centre to speak with you and Miss Natsume. She indicated that I might be able to find you here. Were you challenging the gym leader?"

"Not yet," Jazz said as she tried to think of why a police officer would be looking for them. "Just the gym trainers. Our match with Bugsy is on Monday."

"Oh! If my shift allows, I might come and see," she said with a kindly smile. "Actually, I wanted to talk to both of you about something rather serious."

Broccoli and Jazz's eyes met. Jazz had the impression that under the smiles, Broccoli liked the implication as much as she did, which was to say, not at all. "What is it?" Jazz asked.

The officer chewed on her lower lip. "Let's go to a pokecafe? There's one a block over that serves the best coffee in town, and the pastries are fantastic! The owner has a miltank, and everything is fresh. My treat?"

Jazz didn't like where this was going... but free food was free food.

Officer Jenny escorted them over to the cafe, which was actually quite nice, with a garden to one side where a large miltank was sunbathing with a large pair of shades on and a balcony that had several seats for customers to eat at while shaded by parasols.

The scent of freshly baked bread made her stomach rumble, and she heard a gurgle from both Choco and Marill at the same time.

They ordered, and Officer Jenny, true to her word, paid. A coffee for herself and Jazz, hot chocolate for Broccoli, and a small box of mixed pastries for everyone to pick at.

"So," Officer Jenny said while fondling her cup. "Do you recall that alleged Team Rocket leader in the Slowpoke well?" She said 'alleged' as if it was anything but.

"Yes," Jazz said. He'd beaten her soundly but he was also a Team Rocket boss. She didn't feel nearly as bad about that loss. Now, had she lost to a grunt it would be another thing.

"Well, as it turns out, he had several very well-paid lawyers, and because of the... lack of officiality in the initial arrest, he was able to get away." The officer bowed her head. "I'm so sorry!"

***