"Violet City: The City of Nostalgic Scents", read a sign at the gatehouse between Route 31 and the city. James read the sign and grinned to himself; he was back home again, and he hoped that his brother and father had come back by now. As he and Jen walked towards their street, they saw the faded paint of the Pokémon Centre's roof, and another sign that pointed to the Sprout Tower. They followed a few more signs like it and eventually turned into their street. James' house stood in the middle of the street, and Jen's sat one over. Jen hesitated as they approached the front path; all the lights in her house were out.

“My parents must not be home,” Jen said, shrugging.

"So...you want to come over to my place for a bit?" James asked after about two minutes of standing on the front path with nothing to do. "I'm sure Cyndaquil wants to see where I live, too, and Darrell might be home by now."

"Alright," Jen said with a smile, and they dashed towards the empty Enfield driveway. The evening twilight cast an ethereal glow over the backyard, and flocks of Pidgey started flying back to their nests. As they hurried into the yard, a gush of cold water sprayed the kids and sent Cyndaquil into a squeaking fury.

"Who did that?" James asked, a little louder than necessary. Out from behind a tree stepped a gigantic blue crocodile with a big grin on its face. It towered over them, red spikes jutting from its back and tail, and its heavy jaws looked like they could cut anything in two. A telltale drop of water fell from its lower jaw, and James' question was immediately answered. Jen took out her Pokédex and trained it on the croc.

"Feraligatr, the Big Jaw Pokémon," the machine announced. "Feraligatr is the final evolved form of Totodile. Its jaws are capable of biting through reinforced steel, and it uses them to deal severe damage during battle."

"Hey, what's going on out here?" came another voice, one that James recognized instantly. A tall, dark-haired teenage boy wearing jeans and a grey sweatshirt walked around the corner, a questioning look on his face. His blue-grey eyes were almost exactly the same as James', but his hair was cut shorter than his brothers'. He looked at the seven-foot crocodile, who was trying his best to look innocent. "Feraligatr, what're you up to this...?" The older boy broke off as he noticed James, and grinned broadly. "James, you're back!"

"Hey, Darrell," James said as he grinned back, his own eyes hidden by his sopping wet hair. "Feraligatr just used Water Gun on us to say 'welcome back'."

"Did you, now?" Darrell sternly asked the Big Jaw Pokémon, who looked back at his master with a sheepish look "Well, I'm glad James is home too, but even so, there's no reason for you to turn into a living fire hose every time you see him. I think you owe James and his friend an apology, and you might consider apologizing to his Pokémon, too." Feraligatr growled apologetically at James, who smiled.

"It's alright, Feraligatr. I know you were just saying hi." James patted the crocodile's snout, then looked down towards his shoes. "Now, where'd Cyndaquil go to? I wanted to introduce him to everybody..." The Fire Mouse Pokémon had dashed up a tree when Feraligatr had sprayed them with Water Gun, getting as far away from the Water-type move as possible. "Cyndaquil, get down from there! Feraligatr isn't going to soak you again." Cyndaquil leaped from the tree and landed perfectly on James' right shoulder, squeaking rapidly and indignantly at Feraligatr. "Alright, buddy, that's enough."

"I'm not surprised you took Cyndaquil, James," Darrell said, examining the Fire-type. "You always said you wanted us to have a complete set of starter Pokémon, so after I chose Totodile and Shane picked Chikorita it was inevitable that you would take Cyndaquil..." He became lost in his thoughts for a moment, then returned to reality when he noticed Jen. "Wow, Jennifer, I forgot you were standing right there. How've you been?"

"I'm alright," Jen smiled, as she took out her three Pokéballs. "I was just going to let my Pokémon run around for a little bit, so they can get used to the place and their fellow Pokémon.." She released Magby, Togepi and Zubat, who ran towards Cyndaquil and Feraligatr in an attempt to initiate some friendly conversation.

"You know what, that's a good idea," James said, releasing Pidgey and Geodude. Pidgey flew into a tree and looked haughtily at the others, while Geodude found a shady spot and folded its arms in meditation.

"Looks like your Geodude likes its quiet time, James," Jen remarked as she watched the Rock Pokémon roll away from its compatriots. "And it looks like Cyndaquil and the others are hitting it off fine as well." she added as she noted Magby and Cyndaquil deep in incomprehensible conversation, while Zubat flew around them and Togepi skipped around, tripping over her own feet every so often.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Good thing, too." Darrell said, grinning at his brother. "It took me and Totodile a while to get used to one another, remember?”

“Only what you told me. I was only little when you left.” Darrell chuckled, then turned to go inside.

“Mom and Dad are inside, with Jennifer's parents. I've got to get back inside and deal with some...stuff, so I'll let them know you're here.”

“Gotcha. See you later, Darrell.” As the oldest Enfield brother went inside the house, James looked towards a large tower-like structure in the distance.

“What're you looking at, James?” Jen asked, moving next to her friend.

“You can see the Violet Gym sometimes, if it's not too cloudy. I'm gonna challenge Falker at the first chance I get.”

“How are you gonna beat him? He's a Gym Leader, so he's bound to be pretty tough.”

"Oh, I'm not too worried about Falkner." James said, excited at the mention of a battle. "I've watched him battle my brothers before, so I'm pretty sure I know all his moves. He'll be an easy win."

"Don't be so sure," Jen said, looking seriously at him. "Being too confident can be a bad thing. If you're going to beat him, you're going to need a strategy."

"I've already got a..." James broke off as he considered this statement. Up to now, he hadn't had to develop any kind of strategy to defeat an opponent. The only official battle he'd fought had been against Hunter, and even then he'd simply stormed straight ahead and attacked. A Gym Leader like Falkner would know that James had observed him for years, and was almost certainly developing new tricks to unsettle his opponents. To assume anything would be fatal. "You know what, you're right, Jen. I know Falkner's gonna pull something unexpected on me, and I'm gonna have to keep my wits about me. But don't worry," he added, his optimism taking over. "I can't lose! My Pokémon will take whatever Falkner throws at us, and dish it out twice as hard!"

"You certainly sound confident, son," a deep voice said, and both kids jumped. Standing right behind them was a tall, mustachioed man with unruly dark hair and the same blue-gray eyes as James and Darrell. His bomber jacket had a tear in the right sleeve, and his khaki pants were worn and wrinkled; in short, he looked like a seasoned traveler.

"Dad!" James shouted as he turned to face him. "You're finally home!"

"That's right," Matt Enfield said, a smile crossing his face. "I saw you through the window as you were headed towards John and Emma's house. I noticed you had a Cyndaquil on your shoulder as well."

"Oh, yeah, I picked him as my first Pokémon. You want to meet him?"

"Of course. I'm sure we'd all like to meet him. Here, he can say hello to my own first Pokémon." As he said this, Matt released a gigantic dinosaur-like Pokémon with greenish armor plating. Across its body, triangular gaps in the armor were visible, and its bluish underbelly was exposed in a rhombus-like gap.

"Wow, it's been a long time since I saw Tyranitar in person," James said, instinctively backing away from the combination Rock- and Dark-type. "Now, where's...ah, there he is. Hey, Cyndaquil!" he called, and the echidna perked up at his trainer's voice. "Come over here and meet everybody! You too, Pidgey and Geodude!" Cyndaquil hurried over and leaped onto James' right shoulder, Pidgey flew from her perch and flapped above them, and Geodude woke up and rolled towards the group.

"So, you've caught some of the Pokémon easily found around here, eh?" Matt said, nodding as he inspected the group. "Well, I don't blame you, son. They can be very strong if raised correctly."

"That's what I told him, but he wouldn't listen!" Jen chimed in, adding her two cents.

"Oh, Jennifer, I didn't realize you were here too! You kept James out of trouble?"

"Well, not exactly...but yeah, I guess you could say that. He kept me out of danger too." Jen smiled, then looked at the sky. "Oh, dear! I'd love to stay and talk, but it's getting dark, and I expect my parents'll want me home soon.” She smiled at James and his father, then turned to leave. "Let me know when you're gonna challenge Falkner, I'll be there to cheer you on. Magby, Togepi and Zubat, it's time to leave!" The three Pokémon hurried over to their trainer, and Jen recalled all three for the short walk home. "Well, goodnight, everybody! Thanks for letting me travel home with you, James!" she called as she ran into the darkness, and James flushed slightly as he waved in response.

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"So, a gym challenge, huh?" Darrell said as he took a break in gulping down his soda at dinner that night. "Well, I've been buddies with Falkner for a long time, and I know he's not going to be easy for you to beat. Got a strategy?"

"Nope," James said, finishing his fifth slice of pizza. "I'm going to play it by ear until I get a grasp on what Falkner's up to, then build a strategy on the fly."

"Be careful with that mindset," James' mother said from the other room, stroking Cyndaquil's fur; the Fire-type had quickly taken a liking to her. "You need to make sure you're prepared. I tried winging it in my early coordinating days, but I quickly learned that winning consistently takes a well thought-out strategy."

"I guess you're right," James said with a sigh. "But I still won't lose! I didn't come all round and back again just to fall flat in my first gym battle!"

"That's the spirit," Matt said, coming in from the yard. "You go in with that attitude, you'll have to try real hard to lose."

"And there's something else an aspiring trainer needs," his mother remarked, letting Cyndaquil bolt up the stairs. "Sleep. If you don't get any, you won't have the energy to train or battle."

"Right, Mom," James said, and hurried after Cyndaquil to rest.