Chapter 24

"Amazing work," Lieutenant Surge said. "You're a true hero."

Standing in front of the gym leader was too much for Red to handle. He felt like he was about to collapse at any minute. His legs were quivering with anticipation at just the sight of the man. He was like a lumberjack with short cut blond hair and more muscle than anyone Red had ever seen in his life.

Standing near him made the young man feel practically miniscule in comparison. It wasn't just the appearance of the gym leader but the stories he'd heard of him. Surge was not only renowned as one of Kanto's strongest gym leaders but was the most decorated veteran in its ranks. He'd defended the Kanto continent from attacks on all sides, including a particularly fierce wave from the neighboring region of Johto single handedly. All of Red's Pokemon stood at attention beside him.

"Ending the duel with Misty in a draw after only what—a year of training?" Surge asked. "And now you're taking down Team Rocket attacks. You're becoming your father even sooner than he did at this rate."

Relief washed over Red in a way he'd never known before. His entire life his mother, friends and even Oak to some extent had been breathing down his deck about when he would walk in his father's footsteps and become a powerful trainer. Losing his focus under stress handicapped him more than anyone he'd ever known in this case. For Lance's son to be so weak in times of pressure only put more stress on Red.

But all those memories of failure and unworthiness felt like they were being shed from his mind as Matis Surge patted him on the shoulder. The highest compliment Red could receive is that his strength as a trainer was progressing beyond even his father's and it came from such a reliable source as Kanto's greatest war hero. It was beyond his wildest dreams that something like this happened. This fact alone was enough to make him ambivalent to his surroundings.

Gym trainers from Vermillion City dressed in camouflage surveyed the wreckage of the daycare and carried out the dead. Not only were the deceased of the workers recovered but the bodies of the Rockets given special attention. The previously bound workers were now freed and were questioned while receiving medical attention. The two remaining Rockets that Red defeated were now restrained and being interrogated, often being slapped by Surge's underlings for not answering.

After Red called the authorities using the PC system at the daycare center the trainers came rather quickly. Armored vehicles, a rarity as cars were often not used, were deployed to transport medicine and the casualties themselves from Vermillion. After calling them they arrived within two days after Red was told to stand still until Surge and his trainers arrived. When Red asked some of the surviving daycare workers why the gym leader wasn't called sooner, he got an odd answer.

"Our communications weren't working," one of the men claimed. "They apparently jammed it with Magnemite's electromagnetic interference. We were wondering why our PC just wasn't functioning shortly before the Rockets attacked."

From what Red remembered in school, the large, bulky black vehicles were powered by the electricity of Electric-type Pokemon so they were more common in Vermillion City than most anywhere else in Kanto. About ten of them arrived, some transporting the dead and others the living. The scene was now sectioned off and regular travel, whether pedestrian or by Pokemon like with the common Tauros wagons, were no longer permitted to enter the area.

"If you hadn't come in the nick of time then they would have carried these poor people off to never be seen again," Surge said. "The Rockets have this obsession with not only selling the best Pokemon but the best trainers. A combination of illegal Pokemon capturing and human trafficking. Thanks to you we have a better understanding of what they were attempting to do in this area."

"Yeah!" Selven said. "Red's real brave that way!"

"When he wants to be," Cinder said.

"Thanks," Red said. "That means a lot to me. Anyway…can you give me a ride to Vermillion? I have an SS Anne ticket and apparently there's an important job that–"

"Oh," Surge said. "You want to guard the cargo of the SS Anne just as it's about to ship off? How'd you get a ticket?"

"Bill," Red said.

The gym leader nodded his head.

"Bill's a good judge of character," he said. "Listen, someone with your talent I don't want to waste. How about I give you a training session for a while?"

"A-A training session?" Red asked. "But-from you?"

"Of course," he said. "You'd be a great asset to Kanto's…special military division. You do this and you'll be better off for it."

"But what about the SS Anne?" he asked. "Wouldn't I miss-?"

"My gym handles a lot of that stuff," Surge said. "And with Team Rocket's most recent activity in the area we're too busy investigating to fully commit to stocking up the ship right now. In all honesty we need to postpone the duties to the SS Anne so we can focus on other things like investigating the connection between Team Rocket's attacks."

"Well can't your gym do both?" Red asked.

"My gym is already amongst the largest in Kanto due to the multiple duties we have governing so many activities from police work to shipping to supplying most of Kanto's electricity through the Vermillion power grid," Surge said. "It used to work but now…now it just seems like there's too many jobs to do at once."

"But do you really want to waste your time dealing with me?" Red asked.

Surge laughed before holding out his hand.

"Of course this is not a waste," the gym leader said. "To meet Lance's son after seeing him accomplish such a heroic deed–this is a chance to cultivate potentially one of our strongest soldiers. Train with me for a few months while the SS Anne's trip is postponed and I can all but guarantee you'll see new levels of power you never dreamed of. What do you say?"

Red considered it. He didn't want to battle anymore than he already had, seeing the SS Anne as an opportunity to retire from it. But the idea of potentially becoming a valuable member of Kanto's military…it gave him safety.

If I got on Surge's good side and increased the strength of my Pokemon… Red thought. I could secure my friends' safety moreso than anything else. I said I'd stop taking the gym challenge…not that I'd stop being a trainer. And if I end up joining the Kanto military…then I would just be fighting threats to innocent people like Team Rocket and foreign invaders. My Pokemon would like that.

He smiled and then took Matis's hand in a handshake.

"I say sure," Red said.

{}

The indoor Vermillion Gym was surprisingly spacious. It was even larger than the Cerulean Gym and that was possibly the largest building Red had ever entered. There were probably twice as many seats as either Pewter City's gym had.

Surge stood across from Red, many of his Pokemon brought out. The gym leader's Pokemon behind him were a Magneton, Electrode, Electabuzz and a Raichu. Red was most familiar with Surge's Raichu, Zatch as he'd witnessed him win many a gym battle as Matis's strongest Pokemon he'd had the most. All four of Red's Pokemon stood at his side, ready to begin the training.

"First I'll start off with one simple fact," he said. "You defeated Misty by a fluke."

The trainer could feel his legs give out upon hearing the gym leader's words. All the compliments that Surge had given him now seemed to fade. He felt like he had taken a leap forward with the veteran trainer's praise only to be knocked down.

"Wh-what?" Red asked. "B-but! You said I was already doing better than my father at his age!"

"You are," Surge said. "It's obvious you've invested immense time and effort into training your Pokemon, putting your shoulder to the grind day in and day out. The sheer amount of training you've put your Pokemon through is greater than what Lance put his Pokemon through at your age. I can tell the difference between a trainer who has no clue what they're doing, one who has invested genuine, copious amounts of effort into training, those who have incredible determination and one who has no clue what they're doing. And you…well…you have strong determination, proof of hard work but no clue what they're doing."

Red had to keep himself from tearing up before bowing his head to hold back from crying.

"You were not training with the right mindset is what I was saying," Surge said. "I didn't just witness your battle with Misty but Brock. And I kept noticing a similar problem."

"I've learned to work well under pressure!" Red shouted. "I can command my Pokemon in stress! I've learned from my loss to Brock!"

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yes but now you have to learn another lesson," Matis said. "Being able to issue orders under pressure is in no way valuable without proper forethought. And this is your problem: simplistic strategy."

"Wh-what?" Red asked.

"You think that any trainer can just pick a super effective Pokemon and throw it in the arena, expecting to win?" Surge asked. "Maybe against greenhorn trainers but against professionals that's a losing mindset. All trainers worth their salt have mitigated type effectiveness against their own Pokemon. They form strategies to deal with their Pokemon's weakness to such an extent that elemental advantage is no longer the most determining factor."

Red lowered his head again, wiping his eyes while nodding.

"I guess you haven't watched Misty's gym battles much because many of her Pokemon have perfected the Desalination technique a few years ago," Surge said. "Sending out an Electric-type was a death sentence to that Electabuzz."

"But Kurer defeated her Lapras!" Red said.

Matis sighed.

"Yes," he said. "But only because that was one of her newer Pokemon."

Red froze in place, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "I know…gym leaders tend to send out the weakest member of their team first to…to test the trainer. No point in going all out against someone who can't reach the first level."

"Right," Matis said. "Misty hadn't had that Lapras long enough to perfect the Desalination technique by shooting it with the biggest amount of lightning Kurer had. That's why your Electabuzz was able to defeat it but not Starmie. And your Ivysaur…"

Surge turned to the Grass-type standing next to Cinder, trying not to look shy.

"It's really close to evolving," the gym leader said. "It's bud has gotten big enough to almost bloom. So it's Vine Whip was more than strong enough to capture her Starmie, a Pokemon with already limited physical strength. I was impressed that you had taught your Ivysaur to guard itself with Petal Dance so well, a move that I know Erika says is incredibly versatile. Surviving a Gyarados's Outrage is no small feat. However…"

Surge then eyed Cinder, the Charizard's expression somewhere between anger and apathy.

"Your Charmeleon evolving when it did brought you back to the same old tired trick," Surge said. "It attempted to overpower Misty's Gyarados through sheer burning fire power and raw physical strength. Gyarados isn't a paper tiger in terms of durability but a Charizard's Blaze boosted Fire Blast…wooh…it was lucky that it didn't die. But at that point Misty lost her cool after her Pokemon you killed her favorite Pokemon and she was going off pure rage."

He then sighed.

"So there you have it," Surge said. "See the issue?"

Red lowered his head again, mulling over in his mind everything he did to defeat a Pokemon. Kurer used Zap Cannon, her strongest move, Selven used Vine Whip to strangle Starmie before sapping it of all its body's moisture, and Cinder roasted Gyarados with a Fire Blast. He then nodded.

"I just ordered Kurer and Cinder to use their strongest moves," Red admitted. "While Selven just overpowered Starmie and used type advantage. I…I don't have any real thought besides just blasting away with as much force as possible."

Matis smiled and nodded.

"Now you're getting it," he said. "See, what us gym leaders in the Kanto military learn firsthand is that planning and logistics against known opponents are key to anything. We can't just rely upon the sheer power of our Pokemon to win a battle. Gathering information about our opponents, studying their strategies and movements and then form counters to them is everything. That's how one wins. Preparation."

He shook his head.

"I can tell that you spent all your time battling wild Pokemon," Matis said. "And no time at all watching Brock or Misty's televised battles. Because if you did then you would have trained your Pokemon to counter Brock's Rock Tomb and Misty's Pokemon's ability to manipulate water so well. Thinking up ways to counter that and doing exercises based on those strategies is what you should have done."

"But if one relies on preparation all the time won't they lose the ability to make decisions on their feet?" Red said. "I mean…you have to be able to improvise…don't you?"

Surge looked like he wanted to laugh, a goofy smile breaking out over his face. However, his expression began to sour into a light smile before becoming serious again. Matis then shook his head with a grave frown.

"No," he said. "Let me tell you…if your opponent knows your strategy and capabilities and you don't know there's…then there's little that you can do. No amount of improvising will stop you from being destroyed. The prepared fighter always wins in my experience."

"But what about an opponent that you have no way of preparing for?" Red asked. "I mean…that has to happen…right?"

Surge sighed.

"In that case the more experienced, studied trainer wins," he said. "If a trainer is seasoned enough or knowledgeable enough then they'll be able to exploit whatever weakness the rival Pokemon has."

Red nodded in realization.

"That was how I defeated those Rockets I ran across," he said. "I've been researching various Pokedex entries over the last few months."

"Precisely," Surge said. "But you should have been doing that with Brock and Misty's Pokemon specifically instead. That's how Blue has the gym badges he has."

The boy's name caused anger to surge through Red but the knowledge that Blue had more than one gym badge was infuriating. He could see everyone in Pallet Town fawning over Blue while either ignoring or jeering at Red. He balled his hands into fists, wishing the young man was in front of him so Red could deck him. He felt the desire to tear Blue to pieces, the fear that Lance would see Blue as a superior son, a burgeoning reality.

"He might not actually have done as much grinding as you did," Surge said. "But Blue definitely did more preparing for the gym battles he participated in. And we as Gym leaders admire that more so than sheer power."

"Then…," Red said. "Then…is there anything I can do to bring myself to Blue's level?"

"Red!" Cinder shouted.

The young man turned to the Charizard's hurt expression to see the Fire-type was in distress. His stony exterior was now showing genuine concern as Cinder was worried. Red felt the need to apologize but didn't know how he offended Cinder.

"Wh-What?" Red asked.

"I thought you said you didn't want to train for selfish purposes anymore," Cinder said. "Right?"

"U-Um-" Red said. "I-I-"

"No," Surge said. "Red has the right idea. If he wants to join this special division of Kanto's military…he needs to start training like Blue does."

Cinder then turned to Surge to glare at the gym leader.

"And how does Red need to train then?" the Charizard asked. "To be as arrogant and prideful as Blue? Is that what you're saying?"

Matis eyed the Fire-type skeptically.

"Pro tip," the gym leader said. "Don't let your Pokemon step all over you. In this world humans are to be head over Pokemon."

"I don't view myself as Red's pawn," Cinder said. "I…I want to be his friend. That is…if he's capable of real friendship."

"I'm aware you are friends with your Pokemon," Surge said. "I value those who do not see them as mere tools but companions who can be trusted."

"Wh-What?" Red asked. "Really? But Misty told me I shouldn't think like that."

"Well she's wrong," Surge said. "Pokemon life is as valuable as humans. It should be respected and revered, whether we can control them or not. So…now that you're aware brute force is ineffective are you ready for real training?"

"And what is real training?" Red asked.

"Ever heard of the term, signature move?" Surge asked.

The young trainer took in a deep, stilted breath.

"Yeah…" he said. "But–but I never tried it."

"Obviously," he said. "Or you would have used it. So…what do you know about them?"

"Signature moves are not the same moves that Pokemon can learn naturally," Red said. "They are original in their implementation. They are moves that are individually crafted attacks that are developed through rigorous training. In other words, special, individualized techniques that it takes a higher level effort and honing to make. Each Pokemon can only know one signature move."

"And do you know that gym leaders instruct their Pokemon to learn signature moves?" Matis asked.

"I do," he said. "That's one of the reasons that they're so strong…they've created moves for their Pokemon that otherwise cannot be taught."

"Right," Surge stated. "And for that reason all good trainers should instruct their Pokemon to learn them. So why didn't you teach your Pokemon signature moves?"

"Because of how taxing it is," Red said. "It requires a level of effort and knowledge that I felt that I didn't have. Not to mention that each Pokemon only has so much memory for every move stored within their mind. Oftentimes learning a certain signature move will rid that Pokemon of how to use elemental techniques. I thought it would be more practical to just increase the overall power level of my Pokemon."

"And that is why you failed to defeat Brock and only defeated Misty by a hair's breadth," Surge said. "Brock and Misty both had signature moves while you had none. Misty's Desalination technique that she attempts to teach every one of her Water Pokemon is the signature move she's known for."

"Yes," Red said. "And Brock's is Rock Tomb. Didn't he invent that move or something?"

"No," Surge said. "Another Rock-type specialist did. Signature moves do take a lot of effort into making but they pay off. Did you know that signature moves are the reason Blue won the gym badges he did?"

"What?!" Red asked. "Really?"

"Oh no," Cinder groaned. "Don't tell me this makes you want to compete with Blue again."

"He needs to be on Blue's level if he wants to join this division of the military," Surge said to the Charizard. "We only want the best. But anyway, yes. Blue specially developed a signature move for each of his Pokemon he used in battle against his gym battles in order to take advantage of that Pokemon's weaknesses or mitigate its strengths. Signature moves are usually more elaborate or odd in comparison to naturally learned moves. So…if you teach a Pokemon a signature move that is meant to counter a specific type of Pokemon or moveset…you have a better chance of winning."

"But isn't that crippling to the Pokemon?" Red asked. "I mean…so much effort and so much memory space for other moves gone…for the sake of one move that is meant to defeat one opponent? I mean…doesn't that seem crazy?"

"At this risk of offending you," Surge said. "Look at how many gym badges Blue has won in comparison to you."

Red frowned before sighing.

"It may be unproductive for a novice to have his Pokemon hyper specialize," Surge said. "But from a veteran trainer's perspective, I can tell you for a fact that the Pokemon that win are the ones that have been trained for a specific purpose. And not just for signature moves. For example, Brock's Rock-type Pokemon have had their durability increased to unprecedented levels by exposing them to copious amounts of water. This way when Brock's Pokemon are in pain due to strong Water-type attacks, they can more easily shrug off said pain and push through, thus making them incredibly resilient."

Red nodded, remembering that Brock's Rock-type Pokemon were able to defeat the Team Rocket grunts that came at him with Water-types.

"So now," Surge said. "Are you ready to begin teaching each of your Pokemon a signature move?"

"Each one?" Red asked. "A different move? But I thought you said that Misty and Brock only have the same signature move they teach each one of their Pokemon!"

"Yes," the gym leader said. "While I have each of my Pokemon has a different signature move unique to itself. The first thing I teach them. Misty and Brock are not as experienced gym leaders as I am so I've had more time to do that. But with your Pokemon that have such various types…that'll be more difficult."

"How long will it take?" Red asked.

"Depends on how closely bonded with your Pokemon," Surge answered. "Friendship increases the pace at which signature moves are developed. The more a Pokemon trusts you, the more willing they are to exert themselves for you. First, we'll start with looking at each Pokemon's capabilities, what they can do to make up for their weaknesses and then develop a signature move based on said criteria. I'm not going to lie…this will take months. Are you ready to commit to that?"

"If it means that I'll have an occupation where my Pokemon are safer," Red said. "I'll do anything."

"I like that attitude," Matis said. "I don't truly respect people who have no regard for their own Pokemon. Now, let's get started."