Private/Closed Pokemon Twisted Beige: Kanto journey with a twist! (RP)

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

Stephan marched down the stairs quickly with the rest of the Enforcers. Stephan had a very angry expression on his face. "What's a Jew?" Everyone asked rhetorically, as they exited the tower.

"And this guy's crazy if he thinks there's a radio signal being transmitted from this tower..." The receptionist responded to Hibiki's knowledge.

"The game's up. There is a radio signal being implanted or well...it was...but that doesn't matter anymore...that Beige and his gang of numbskulls found out our little secret..." Stephan cursed Beige.

 

[Gavin Sykes]

True peace. All the tension in his muscles left in an instant. The sounds of the beach were muted, a distant echo and bit of distortion messed with the acoustics. With eyes closed, he felt his own swaying motion as though nestled in a hammock buoyed by the breeze. He lost track of time, allowing the gentle rocking to lull him into complete relaxation. The familiar hand of his partner gently grasped his shoulder, a subtle reminder that there was nothing to fear, that a friend stood watch and could guarantee a rare chance for actual rest.

She grasped a little too tight, but he was too relaxed to brush the hand aside. Then with a thud, the hammock seemed to crash. He groaned, the wind knocked out of him in an instant, but somehow found himself still too tired to open his eyes. The hand returned, more forcefully this time.

What could she possibly want? Couldn’t she see he needed sleep?

She hit his chest. He ignored her. She could be a jerk sometimes, but he liked to think that he was far more patient.

Then he felt sudden flush of emotions as she planted a slow kiss on his lips. He jerked backwards instinctively.

How dare she-

He opened his eyes and stared into Pokehauntus’s impossibly wide smile.

“ACK!”

He tried to roll away, but every attempt to move left him coughing in a helpless fit as he expelled the water from his lungs.

Finally, after a full five minutes of relearning how to breathe properly, he pushed himself from his sprawled out position on the beach.

That hand….Gastly.

He glared at the pokemon, ignoring the obvious signs that she had just saved his life.

“Keep your hands….”

He frowned.

Gastly doesn’t have hands.

“Just keep to yourself.”

Pokehauntus laughed menancingly, as if accepting the challenge.

Sykes opened his mouth to say more, but remembered Sketch. His anger at the ghost was quickly forgotten.

He needed to get back to the Pokecenter. Now.

He clasped Sketch’s Pokeball with a surge of determination, and Pokehauntus stopped laughing abruptly, as if in tacit understanding that there was at least one more to save.

His uniform was a mess, and every spare change of clothes was completely soaked. But he wasn't sure that the Pokecenter would welcome him if he was readily recognized as an Enforcer. It took him more than a few tries to extract himself from the Enforcer’s uniform and fit into his civilian clothes.

He bagged his badge and tattered uniform. Forensics was all he was good at, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to leave that life behind yet. He wasn’t sure if he could blame Red for ordering Venusaur to kill him, given the circumstances. But there would be quieter moments to make long-term decisions and more opportunities to make that call. For now, Sketch needed care.

He made the Pokemon center, having shed all identifying marks that tied him to the Enforcers. He would rest up, and perhaps seek out the gym leader tomorrow – if Cade had survived. Whatever was to happen, gaining some battling experience seemed necessary.

 

[Ry_Burst]

“Cade,” Jax said, slipping of his mask. I wish to challenge your gym.” His voice was stern, despite the chaos that had recently unfolded. Pika, Fury and Rouge made their way back to Jax, with the latter taking a bit more time, and stumbled a bit as he went.

They stood beside him as he glared at Cade. At this point, he was ignoring Beige. His rage was seemingly reaching it’s topping point.

“Pika, Pikachu,” Pika said, tugging at Jax’s pants leg. He glanced down at her, and she pointed to a shattered window.

“Oh crap. That enforcer,” he muttered as he hurried over to the window and looked out it. He saw Sykes, walking away. Jax assumed the man’s Gastly had kep him from dying, and turned to face Cade. “My offer still stands. I need you badge, so I can get closer to my goal. My goal of defeating Red.” His voice was still firm and as he glared across the room at Cade. He needed to get his done, ASAP.

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"First, I'd like to challenge Beige to a pokemon battle." Cade said. "As a reward for helping save this town from the clutches of the Enforcers, you won't need to pay me any money."

"Thanks, but, I wasn't planning to challenge you." Beige replied.

"Let's make it a quick battle, 1 vs 1." They marched to the top floor where a battlefield was already set out. Cade first sent out his Gengar and Beige sent out Skull. Skull tried to hit the Gengar several times but Gengar teleported out of sight and attacked Skull from behind, pulling the pokemon down to the ground and then zapping it with shadow ball attacks. Skull fainted and Cade had won. Beige was about to leave when Cade stopped him.

"Wait...I forgot to give you this." Cade interupted as he gave Beige an orange flute. "Mr Fuji was a good friend of mine too. He said to give you this Beige. It's a pokeflute. It awakens ALL pokmemon, including the Snorlaxs that come around now and then."

"Thank you."

"Next!" Cade yelled towards Jax.

(Leaf's Perspective)

Leaf sneaked into a meadow of grass which lay beyond a secluded fence in route 8. She was hunting down a pokemon that she saw in the grass. She saw a red dot and followed it. Then she sent out her Ivysaur. The Ivysaur was ordered to pin down the fiery pokemon and it did so. The pokemon was a small fox pokemon which incinerated the vines Ivysaur had tried to pin it down with. Another grass type attack managed to weaken the pokemon and then Leaf threw a pokeball and caught the creature. She had caught a Vulpix.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki watched the procession of Enforcers pass by, in utter bewilderment. It never ceased to amaze him how many people it took to fight Beige, only to STILL fall back with their tails between their legs.

"Enforcers," my ass, he thought, disgustedly. At that moment, the phone in his pocket vibrated, and he lifted it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hibiki? It's me. Are you okay?"

Hibiki stood straight up, fully attentive at the sound of Gold's voice. "Yeah," he said uncertainly. "Good as I can be. What's up?"

"Good! Good." The relief in his brother's voice was all too evident. "Have you been keeping tabs on Beige like I asked you to?"

"Uh-" Guilt flooded through Hibiki's system, but he steeled his resolve and answered. "I did, at first. But it turns out he was lying about changing his ways, and following him nearly got me killed all over again. So thanks for saving me back in Cerulean, but I risked my life doing your favor, and I cut it short there. We're even. Sorry I couldn't make it work."

Gold gave a small sigh, then laughed weakly. "As things worked out, I'm glad you didn't go with him. I just got word that Red paid a visit to Lavender Town to deal with Beige himself. I didn't figure he'd do that. If he'd seen you with Beige, I'm not sure what Red would have done to you. There are times when he can be . . . temperamental."

Hibiki's eyes widened at the news. "Red came to Lavender? That's where I am, right now! I was waiting for Beige to come down to the bottom floor of the Pokemon Tower so I could kick his terrorist ass." He shuddered. "No wonder the tower was shaking. I missed out on something big."

"Yeah, well, Beige picked a convenient spot to meet his doom. The undertakers will hardly have to do any work at all."

"I'm not so sure about that," muttered Hibiki. "I just saw the Enforcers and their chunky-butt leader pass through here, and their mannerisms didn't suggest that Beige was dead."

There was a moment's silence on the other end. " . . . Huh." Gold seemed lost for words. Another silence passed, and then he regained his tongue. "You think Red traveled all the way to Lavender to meet Beige, and NOT kill him? That doesn't add up."

"I could go check."

"Yeah. Red should be gone, so it's probably safe. But if he's alive . . ." Gold put stress into his next words. "Don't engage him in battle. At least, not this time. If Beige is alive, it's certainly not because he fought off Red. It's because Red LET him live. And if Red's keeping him around for some reason, you'd best not interfere with it. Let some other guinea pig test that."

Hibiki ground his teeth in frustration, but recalled Charmeleon. He'd been looking forward to the bittersweet encounter against Beige. "Alright. I won't fight him unless he starts it. But I still don't get why Red would depart while Beige still had a pulse."

"Neither do I. It's just speculation on my part, but better to be safe than sorry. Keep me informed; I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. Later." Hibiki pocketed his phone and trudged up the steps.

 

[Ry_Burst]

The quick win of Cade, bugged him. Why did Beige, this force that people seemed to be so fearful of, lose so easily to Cade. While his Gengar looks powerful in it’s own right it seemed like Beige’s Cubone was off beat. Skull’s movements had been sloppy and uncoordinated, unlike from what Jax had seen the Cubone do to Enforcers.

But Jax didn’t complain. He didn’t trust Beige and this was a problem that he didn’t care about. “Go, Fury, you’re up first.” Jax said, as he made distance between himself and his opponents. The Fearow fluttered coward, getting in front of Jax. “You chose how the battle is and make the first move. I’ll be ready.”

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"On second thought, I think i'll stay to watch you...." Beige said to Jax. Beige was feeling a little ill and had a bad feeling that he was more at risk if he followed the Enforcers. Beige took his place on one of the few benches in the eeries room.

"3 on 3." Cade said. He threw out a poke ball and a Gastly appeared.

(Stephan's Perspective)

Stephan stood on a wooden stage in the middle of Vermillion City. "It's terrible he killed Lt.Surge..." An old woman said to Stephan.

"I know, we'll, try to get who killed your husband." Stephan said to the lady.

 

[Gavin Sykes]

Sykes rushed into the Pokecenter, ignoring the bread lines and tent areas starting to form in the lobby for the night as he beelined to the front desk.

“I think my Ditto might be in critical condition. Where should I go?”

A clerk that couldn’t have been 16 peeked her head out from under the desk, her lips still moving as if memorizing something important.

"My you’re out late....Welcome to our Pokemon center! We can heal your Pokemon to perfect health! Shall we heal your –“

-WHAM-

Sykes slammed his Pokeball on the desk impatiently.

“Please do,” He managed through a barely contained scowl. The clerk took the ball with a hint of annoyance, depositing it neatly into a tray before uploading the device into the primary care center.

A moment later, a message returned on the device.

“Well that’s…unusual.” The clerk disappeared beneath the desk again, thumbing a massive tome frantically. “Ah- here it is. I’m afraid your Ditto may need some additional assistance. Please wait in the lobby area until we call you with further details.”

Sykes sighed, deflated. Pokecenters were usually known for having the best customer service in Kanto. Complaints were difficult to justify, given that their services were free. Though it was a little odd that no one seemed to question why.

Sykes shook his head. There wasn’t any need for paranoia. Probably. Surely Red couldn’t monitor every Pokemon healed in a Pokecenter. And there were wild Ditto between Fushia and Lavender Town…perhaps enough to ensure there were even more than one here tonight.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. This was going to be a long night.

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

Stephan took out an Abra and teleported to Saffron City. There, it seemed like there were much more than a hundred Enforcers just standing there in the stone city. A group marched forward as trumpets played. Red was arriving. He arrived in the golden and crimson cart with the Enforcers carrying him, just like how he had arrived in Pewter. He was to make a speech. However, as he approached the large stage sitting in the middle of the city, he changed his mind. A crowd of supporters gathered at the foot of the stage, while two Enforcers grabbed their cameras and started recording. The footage went live to the Kanto News channel which was based in Celadon, partly. Stephan started to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen. There has been a spike in the activities of certain rebelious Enforcers, particularly ones using the Pomemon Ditto, to impersonate Red to achieve their own goals, meaning that certain members of the public were forced into certain positions...selfish and stubborn. We cannot allow this to happen. From now on, ALL Enforcers in possession of a Ditto shall be arrested, executed if they show any resistance to the law OR Red. And so, I bring you, two members of the force who rebelled when they were introduced to this law." Stephan announced. Then, Stephan snapped his fingers. Two men in black unforms sent out two Scythers which brutally executed the two hopeless looking men, chopping off their heads.

 

[Ry_Burst]

The battle raged on, with both trainers now down to one Pokemon each. Jax with Pika and Cade with his Gengar, which was proving to be a tough customer.

“Listen to me, Cade. I refuse to lose this battle. I’ve worked so hard. I’ve studied. I’ve gave it my all. And I will be the one to knock Red off his throne. So hit me it’s you best shot, and watch as I win!” Jax’s enthusiasm was rising. His speech inspired Pika, who stood proud and allowed sparks to fly from her cheeks. But she wasn’t unharmed. She had taken some damage from Haunter already, and had lost some stamina.

“Fine then. I will help you with your goal. Shadow Ball!” His Gengar formed a ball of shadow fueled energy and fired it. The gristly orb glided towards Pika silently.

“Electro Ball!” Jax was quick to respond to the attack, and Pika was even quicker to deliver. In a moment, she had formed a yellow ball of crackling electricity, and fired it towards Gengar’s attack. An explosion rocked the battlefield.

“Quick Attack!” Jax shouted. In a fury, Pika leapt through the smoke, dashing at Gengar at an incredible speed. “Combine with Spark.” Now his attack would actually damage Gengar. The attack rocked into Gengar doing a good deal of damage.

“Now, finish it! Thunderbolt!” Jax’s offense was relentless. The attack after attack was all he had. Pika would grow tired out soon, and might as well use it all in one blaze of glory, so that Gengar didn’t have time to recover. The ghostly spectar was shocked with a great deal of electricity.

He had fainted. Jax had won another badge. But Pika was exausted. He returned her to her Pokeball and waited for Cade to speak.

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

The crowd cheered in favour of the loyal Enforcers who had brought justice by chopping off the men's heads. Stephan smiled, pleased with his work. Then, there came a sound of a group of Enforcers getting beaten up. Men in martial art gear had turned up to attack the Enforcers. They sported a basic white clothing, with a red headband on their foreheads. They raised their fists as they sent out fighting type pokemon, most of them in their basic form. This looked like a large cluyster of Machops, Tyrogues and Mankeys. They managed to defeat most of the Enforcers protected the crowd. The crowd ran away quickly, in different directions. Then, a group of psychics appeared to help the Enforcers. Most of them sent out Abras. Stephan saw the chaos that had been created in a matter of minutes and knew that this conflict was going to last a number of days. It was a typical day in Saffron City, in which Stephan was not used to. He could clearly see that the leader of the psychics, a black haired woman with a pink vest, knew what to do. She seemed to be exprienced in this, as if this had happened before, many times and, indeed it had.

"Sabrina? Is that you?" Stephan asked.

Sabrina turned round as she was ordering commands from a strong looking Kadabra and nodded. "This is no place for you." She said. "Turn back now. Leave this to the real professionals. I forsee it." Then a number of pokemon from the opposite side launched themselves forward and almost attacked Stephan. Stephan was saved by a clown pokemon which created some kind of glass screen or barrier to protect Stephan from the attacks. Stephan realised it was Sabrina's Mr.Mime. "The situation is critical. We need to formulate a plan to defeat the fighting dojo rebels."

(Beige's Perspective)

Beige marched to the west of Lavender to find Leaf standing in front of his way. "There you are! I was going to find you!" Leaf exclaimed.

"I survived the tower." Beige stated. "Red was there. It wasn't good."

" I can tell..." The two of them walked back into Lavender Town and then into the south. "I was going to go this way, but there's a large bear pokemon on the bridge."

"It's a Snorlax." Beige said, looking up at the creature. "Let me fix this..." Beige whipped out the orange flute Cade had given him. "Mr Fuji wanted me to have this. It wakes up ALL pokemon." Beige played a number of random notes. The beast awoke and, getting agitated, move further along down the bridge.

"I guess he won't allow us to pass. We'll have to go west to continue our journey then."

And so they did. After battling the trainers along the western route, they went into the underground passage and this took them to Celadon city. They noticed that there were still Enforcers guarding Saffron City.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

The climb up the Pokemon Tower was more draining than Hibiki had anticipated, and he was stopped countless times by the sudden appearances of the gaseous spirit orb pokemon, Gastly. By the time he'd finally made it to the proper gym floor, Charmeleon's tail was dragging from all the times he had used his flame tip Ember on the ghosts. The two of them managed to clear the last stairs just as Jax's Pikachu lit up Gengar in a concentrated electron burst. Gengar swayed, then fell in defeat.

"Woah," Hibiki muttered, pulling out his pokedex. "Dexter, base stat analysis. Subject: Gengar."

The machine beeped, then brought up a picture of the purple grinning ghost. Hibiki scanned the page with his eyes, checking the bar graphs beside each category. They stood relatively short, but spiked in the areas of Special Attack and Speed. "So . . . it's a glass cannon," he said, lifting his eyes to the Pikachu still standing on the field. "Now, how about the other? Subject: Pikachu."

As soon as the picture in his pokedex switched to the yellow mouse, every bar but Speed sharply diminished. Hibiki's eyes widened slightly, as they shifted from the data in the machine to the reality on the battlefield. "Geez. Pikachu's got speed and virtually nothing else. If Cade's Gengar lost to something like that, it must be exceedingly under-leveled." He shrugged. "Maybe this is just Red's way of introducing trainers to Gengars for the first time, just like with Petra's Aerodactyl."

He was about go out and congratulate Jax on his astonishing victory with Pikachu, when Cade approached the other boy to say something. Hibiki beckoned to Charmeleon. "Here, let's walk over to the Challenger's Box. Cade will understand what we're here for when he's done with Jax. After this, it's on to Celadon City, and a much more certain gym victory."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

Stephan teleported onto the top of Celadon's gym and started speaking to Gale about Beige.

Beige and Leaf saw the massive Celadon City in it's full glory. There were a number of giant sized skyscrapers around with huge electronic bill boards attatched to them, many of them advertising the gym leader, Gale. She was wearing a blue dress with her fluffy scarf, in the advertisement. Moving their eyes of the advertisements, Beige and Leaf saw a skyscraper with a gigantic egg ovel on the top. Leaf realised this was the Great Egg Research Centre that the Enforcers from Vermillion City had been talking about before. She hadn't realised this was there when she was last here. Beige quickly found the gym. It seemed to be one of the tallest skyscrapers in the area and had the letters spelling out the name convienantly placed on the front. There were many silver discs on the floor representing manholes for the newly built sewers below.

"Listen, you can go and challenge the gym but...I need to go and get some things from the departement store." Leaf said to Beige.

"An excellent plan. I think i'll go there afterwards." Beige said. Leaf started walking away and the two of them put their hands up to wave.

A butler arrived in a life for Gale. "I am told a new challenger has approached. Records suggest his name is Chris." The Butler said to Gale. "Or at least that's what the Enforcers told us."

"I have no time for this." Gale said, walking towards the edge of the building. Below her was the harsh cruel road of Celadon. Gale put her arm out behind her.

"Madame...you do realise..."

"Later!" She shouted, jumping off the edge. She did not crash to the ground, as she was carried by the swift body of a Pidgeot, which grabbed her by it's talons. The Pidgeot flapped upwards and the Butler pulled a face as if to say 'I should have known.'

"We've spotted the boy entering Celadon City, according to a woman who was lurking in the underground passage. I'll deal with him...then I'll come back for the gym battles!" Gale exclaimed.

The Pidgeot dumped the rich woman next to Celadon Game Corner. A group of young men ran out, drunken by the slot machines, laughing. As they bumped into Gale, she looked upon a large group of trainers entering Celadon. She was looking for a boy in yellowish/beige clothing with a suncap. That was what she was told-by Stephan. She thought she saw the fabled boy in the crowd and walk briskly towards the group. The group dispersed and Gale looked back. She realised it was not Beige in the crowd when she discovered the group had been travelling around together. According to the information, Beige went around on his own...if not, with one other person.

Beige chose that day not to go to the gym. He saw that there was a good queue of people waiting for a challenge. Instead, he plodded over to the game corner to see what that was about. There, he managed to find an empty coin case that someone had forgot about. It was just lying next to one of the machines. Beige wasn't very good at the games at the corner and noticed a poster on the wall at the back. He went over to it. In some stories he had been told, there had been a Team Rocket hideout underneath the game corner and that there was some kind of secret button under one of the posters hanging around this very room. That's when it hit him. He had been given a business card with Team Rocket's details in Celadon City on them. He completely forgot until now. He peeled the poster back to discover a red button. He pressed it. The floor below him turned into a slope and it was so slippery, Beige fell to his feet. The slope took him down into a secret enterence to what Beige thought was the Rocket hideout. It was old and full of cobwebs. It looked like it had never been used before. Yet, there were some men in black uniforms looking over Beige's fallen body on the floor.

"You must be Beige. We were told to wait here for you. We know you had our business card." One of the grunts said. The men gave Beige a hand and lifted him.

"Thanks." Beige said, regaining his breath.

"Let us take you to our leader." One of the grunts suggested.

"Alright." Beige followed the grunts through a long hallway.

"Don't go through any of the passages...we're conducting experiments in those rooms..."

They reached a grand door. The grunt kicked the door open and there was an office. Above it was a glass dome. The glass dome broke as a Pidgeot crashed to the ground.

"There she is!" One of the men exclaimed.

The woman looked at them then marched over to Beige. "Are you Beige?" She asked.

"Yes."

"I am the leader of-"

"Wait." Beige said. "You look familiar...you look like the so called 'gym leader' of this city...or is it just that you-"

"Now! Get him!" She shouted.

The men grabbed Beige and covered him with a sack. Just before Beige was covered with the bag, he saw the Rocket grunts rip off their clothes to reveal Enforcer uniforms. And the woman did too. The Enforcers had tricked Beige and their leader, was actually an Enforcer commander-the gym leader, Gale.

"We got him...good..." Gale said to her goons.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Once Cade had finished his talk with Jax, his eyes fell upon Hibiki. "It never rains, but it pours," he said quietly, before brightening up. "Well, then! You'll have to forgive me for being a bit distracted. I'm still in some shock over the loss of my Mentor, Mr. Fuji . . . and Red was just here with his Enforcers . . . also, I just fought several battles in a row. But hey, Red was clear that I was not to shirk my duty while his Candidates were in town, so let's @#%&ing do this."

It was almost disturbing, the contrast between Cade's bright voice and smile, and the cynical overtones of his speech. Then again, he was the Ghost-type gym leader, so perhaps spooking the challenger was part of his schtick. Hibiki did his best to shrug it off and raised his hands innocently. "Look, man, I'm not in any particular hurry. If you want to wait until tomorrow-"

"Oh, no, we're here now," Cade insisted, keeping the plastic smile firmly lodged in his cheeks. "By all means, let's give our animals a good beating. Three to three, three two one, ready or not, here comes Gastly."

His pokeball whirled out, and in a flash, the dark spirit orb pokemon hovered on the battle floor. Cade gave it a nod. "Whatever comes out on his end, suffocate the bastard."

Hibiki gaped at him. "Geez. Okay, uh . . . Charmeleon, you're up. Do that thing you just learned how to do."

Charmeleon sauntered forward toward Gastly, and for a moment, the two just looked at each other across the battle floor. Then Gastly began to fade from view, and Charmeleon tensed and opened his mouth. Before the ghost pokemon went completely invisible, a Flamethrower lit up the area, raising the temperature to an unbearable peak. Gastly quickly reappeared on the ground, its oversized tongue lolled out in defeat. Cade looked down. "Oh. @#%&."

"Yeah, I've been there before," Hibiki agreed, as Gastly disappeared in the red withdrawal light. "It sucks to be OHKO'd."

Cade gave him a hard look, and in spite of his distance facade, Hibiki could see some genuine pain in his eyes now. "You understand nothing," he said angrily, as his Haunter appeared on the battlefield. "You think that these gym performances we put on somehow test your mettle, but they don't. If you were to face my true pokemon team without the level caps Red enforces, you'd soon see what a Ghost-type is REALLY capable of."

"Yeah, but then we trainers would never be able to move up in the world," Hibiki said, with a raised eyebrow. "As I'm sure you already know. Charmeleon, Flamethrower again!"

Once more, before Cade could even make a counter-call, Charmeleon loosed a jet of flames that blasted Haunter through the wall. A few seconds passed, but Haunter didn't come back, and it was clear that his fainted body was drifting somewhere outside the tower.

"See, this is what I'm talking about," Cade said irritably, raising his third pokeball. Gengar came out, newly revitalized. "You're not getting to experience what it's like when your enemy completely disappears, hypnotizes you, then uses your brain as a chew-toy. Down the road, you'll face the same kind of pokemon that you saw in one of the earlier gyms, only it won't have the artificial restraints. Then you'll wonder how you ever beat it the first time, and you'll realize too late how weak your team truly was."

A surge of anger boiled to the top of Hibiki's chest. "You think I don't know this already?" he snapped. "My brother is Gold! I've lived in the shadow of true power for years. I know the difference between the force of nature that is his Typhlosion, and this level thirty-something fire-starter I've had for two weeks. I'm sorry that you've had a bad day, but don't go assuming that I'm some ignorant yuppie with a false sense of strength."

Cade's eyebrows raised in surprise at this fierce response, and he gave a smile that was now only half-ironic. "Well! How about that- a Red Candidate who knows he's being played by the system. I just hope for your sake that your Charmelon doesn't share your insecurity."

"Yeah, your compassion is inspiring," grumbled Hibiki. "Charmeleon, one more for the fire."

"Shadow Ball, Gengar. We may as well humor them a little."

The two attacks shot past each other, but each hit their marks in a blaze of light. When Hibiki managed to clear his eyes to look again, he saw Gengar steaming on the ground, and Charmeleon spread-eagle, staring blankly at the ceiling. For a moment, he thought it was a double KO, but then Charmeleon passed a paw over his face and slowly rose on shaking hind legs. Cade shrugged, reached into his pocket, and strolled forward toward Hibiki with badge in hand.

"You realize, I hope, that it their levels had been equal-"

"I know. The result would be the opposite of this," Hibiki said wearily. "For the record, none of my other pokemon would have lasted a minute. Onix would've died instantly, Nidoqueen has no moves that can hurt ghosts, and I just caught Kadabra- who, by the way, is also a glass-cannon type pokemon."

"Hm. I see. I'm a bit surprised you managed to beat the Cerulean gym with a team like that."

Hibiki glared and snatched the badge out of his hand. "I didn't."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

Beige felt the wind blowing through as Gale's Pidgeot carried him and the woman to the top of the gym's skyscraper. Beige felt a cool breeze as the bag was lifted from his body and then Beige breathed in and out very rapidly. There had been a lack of air in the sack.

"Where are we?" Beige asked, looking around.

"Welcome...to my gym!" Gale shouted. A group of Enforcers circled Beige.

Gale grabbed the business card from Beige's pocket. "Who gave you this?"

"I thought...you guys did..."

"Lies!" Gale screamed. "Only those Team Rocket Fleabags would deliberately try to recruit you. We tricked you!"

"So there is a Rocket base here..." Beige said to himself.

A group of bird pokemon flew onto the skycraper. It was a group of Pidgeys, Pidgeottos, Spearows and a Farfetch'd. Gale seemed happy, feeding them seeds but then focused back on Beige and became enraged.

An Enforcer pulled a knife out of his pocket. He started to push the knife into Beige's chest. Beige felt the pain as his eyes watered.

On the first floor, an experienced woman in kimono gown walked towards the lift. Two bulky looking Enforcer guards stood in her way. Suddenly, the men fell to the floor, as a sleep powder attack from a pokemon behind her came to her aide. She entered the lift and popped out on the top floor, where Beige and Gale were. The Enforcers were too busy encircling Beige to notice the lift's doors opening. A pair of vines grabbed each of the Enforcers and threw them off the edge. Gale looked back and started to panic. There was a Tangela next to the woman and a Gloom too.

"You! I haven't seen you in years!" Gale exclaimed.

"I've come back." The woman said in response. "To bring justice for what you did. Gale, you put my gym out of business. You ruined me."

"The great Erika." Gale spoke aloud. Beige had heard this name before. There had been a news story of the gym closing down and Erika had been denounced as some kind of terrorist. "You lost all your money and all your reputation as a gym leader...just because you chose to go against Red. You allied yourself with Team Rocket and-"

"I'll never forgive you." Erika muttered. She tossed a poke ball and a Vileplume appeared. "Sludge bomb." A sludge bomb attack was launched into the air. A Pidgeot flew in front of Gale to protect her.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily. And I can see you're trying to help this boy here. He's become quite infamous lately."

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

As Hibiki prepared to descend the Pokemon Tower, he gave Jax a brief look. "I'm going back to the pokecenter, dude. It'll be night out soon, and I want to reserve a public bed. See you back there, maybe."

***

Lavender Town was a place Hibiki had expected to look more spooky at night, given the fact that it was a place of death and funerals. However, as he passed from the Tower to the Pokemon Center, he found the sight of the red sunset calming and therapeutic. And why not? If he were to die tomorrow, he didn't want people to tiptoe around his grave in fear, or perform weird rites of reverence just because he was deceased. The dead, before they had died, were regular people themselves. Surely they would have appreciated a beautiful sunset as much as the next guy.

Once he was back in the Pokecenter, and Charmeleon had gotten a pill for his headache, Hibiki sat amidst some other trainers in the leisure area, absently slurping his cup of ramen noodles. His mind drifted back to something that the gym leader, Cade, had told him.

You think that these gym performances somehow test your mettle, but they don't.

So, he was a weakling being babied. He could accept that; all trainers started off weak, even Gold. What bothered him was how much stronger he already was than most other trainers he'd encountered, particularly the Enforcers. Why was there such a power discrepancy between casual trainers, and those like him who took up the Red Journey? And if he was still weak compared to the real veterans, what must they be capable of? Said another way: if he had been placed upon a fast track to becoming truly powerful, how much further along were those who had been on such a path for decades?

Hibiki's head began to spin. If this marathon walk, the multiple incidents he'd risked his life, and the gyms he'd fought and lost against- if these were not yet worthy tests of his mettle, what were? What would he be like a year from now, after going through whatever bone-breaking, soul-grinding trials qualified as worthy? Would he approach Red's level of power? Would Red even allow for that?

He put a hand to his head, forcing the stream of questions to stop. No sense in worrying about a shapeless phantom of the future. He'd just have to focus on the present, one day at a time.

*(Requesting a Time Skip to mid-morning in Celadon City)

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

(Time skip to the next day)

Beige awoke in a bed in the middle of an empty room. He got up. Where was he? He had been knocked out out one point by Gale's pokemon. But Erika had managed to escape with Beige and his pokemon, before Gale could get back up from being attacked by the continuous vine attacks from Erika's Tangela. The room was emerald green with plants all around. Suddenly, a group of mainly women stood over Beige. Erika moved to the front of the group.

"You're awake. Excellent." Erika said to Beige. She seemed to be pretty relieved. "Welcome to our grass type gym. I took you here once Gale and I finished our fight. She knocked you out, so I had someone lay you out in this room until you awoke."

"Thank you..."Beige said, getting up.

"We found Gale was hiding a number of other prisoners too. They seemed to be former trainers who oppossed Red. I must show you something else. However, it will require us to go into the sewers. A strange man helped me save you and he told me we must go under the ground. I have been considering joining Team Rocket. I've been in contact with one of their freed admins, Ariana. She managed to break out of the prison in Saffron City a few days ago. She came to me asking I go down to the sewers for some reason."

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

If there was one definitive trait about Celadon City regarding the Red Journey, it was the place where pokedex holders accelerated their progress. The metropolis housed a massive department store, in which could be purchased any stone necessary for evolving pokemon to their final stage. Furthermore, it held quality items for professional advancement, including Hyper Potions, Super Repels, and the coveted Revive tablets. A thrifty customer could alternatively abuse the drink machine on the top floor for quality healing beverages at a modest price. Aside from the super store, Celadon housed two gyms, a game corner that accepted minors, and an egg research center that was rumored to have at one point distributed Eevees to students under Professor Oak. This was supposedly where Red had gotten his legendary Espeon.

All this, Gold had informed Hibiki of as he rode his bike through an underground pass bound for the city. However, he would first need to stop at the pokemon center before he visited anywhere else.

"Why?" Hibiki had asked. "My pokemon are fully healed from last night."

"It's always good to know where a city's pokecenter is," replied Gold. "Plus, I sent a package there for you."

"A package?" Hibiki gasped, nearly falling off his bicycle at the mention of the gift. "What is it?"

***

It turned out to be supplemental pokemon gear, which Hibiki didn't immediately recognize. He held the two items up for his brother to see over the pokecenter's video chat computer.

"In most regions, by the time you've gotten three or four badges, it's customary for you to get those things," Gold explained with a smile. "You've been moving around so fast that you've never even had your pokemon hold anything, but it's time to change that. See the little bell thingy in your right hand?"

Hibiki looked at the item, and nodded.

"That's called a Soothe Bell. I know you're not the most sentimental guy with your pokemon, but the time may come when you add a team member that will only evolve through show of kindness. Even if you don't, let someone wear it like Charmeleon, or . . . Nidoqueen!"

Hibiki made a face. "Dude, you're not funny."

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you've never wondered what it'd be like to be kissed on by a Nidoqueen," said Gold, grinning from ear to ear. "It's okay to admit it. We've all thought it at one point."

"NO." Hibiki shook the item in his right hand, determined to change the subject. "What's this? It looks like those hats they put on your head before strapping you to the electric chair."

"That's an Exp Share," Gold explained. "Sorry, it's an older model that only works on one pokemon per unit. The new ones share any battle experience with the entire team, but . . . well, it'll do well enough if you've got a Magikarp or other weak pokemon that can't stand on its own."

Hibiki looked over the Exp Share, and the smile returned to his face. "Sounds useful. Thanks, bro."

"You're welcome. Where are you heading next?"

Hibiki paused long enough to look over a tour map of Celadon that was posted on the wall. "Hmm . . . y'know what? I just fought a gym yesterday, so let's mix things up a bit. I'm gonna pay the Rocket Game Corner a little visit, and see if it's still operational."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

Leaf awoke in a bright house, a house not too large but definitely not too small. She had stayed the night in her parents' house. They had been planning to move to Pallet Town, yet, they had stayed right where they were in Celadon for some time now. Leaf had bought many items, including a plethora of evolution stones. She had also visited Celadon University the previous day, to the north of the town. This was the new university that Red was planning to build. The construction workers gave a tour to all visitors of the site, where they showed her the many rooms. Red had allowed a small group of students to study there for one semester. They were learning about pokemon battling and when Leaf arrived, they gave her a poke ball containing the rare pokemon Eevee. Somehow, they had managed to find enough Eevees to hand out to the majority of visitors. Red had secretly been breeding the Eevees in a lab on Cinnabar Island.

As Leaf rose for the day, she decieded to finally challenge the gym. At breakfast, she told her parents she would be leaving again. Her parents were very upset to hear this, as they loved her very much, but they seemed to be acting a lot stranger recently. Leaf noted how both of them would give massive lectures about how good and true Red was. Leaf certainly wasn't Red's biggest fan anymore. Finally setting off, her parents waved to her. Walking down an alleyway as a shortcut, a woman stood on one of the roofs of the houses.

A group of Enforcers huddled together next to the woman. "There! That's Leaf!" They said to the woman.

Moving her face out of the shadows, the woman was revealed to be Gale. "She's one of Beige's friends. We need to capture her to toy with the guy's emotions."

(Beige's perspective)

After being fed on a good amount of rations the kind women of the gym had prepared him, Beige approached Erika.

"Team Rocket have demanded that I train you, before we enter their hideout." Erika said, looking up at Beige. "In order to beat Gale, you must also have a pokemon that can fly well and, judging by your pokemon, that's not the case. Your Gyarados cannot fly even though it is a flying type and your Beedrill's wings are weak. We must go and catch a pokemon. I know the exact route. Follow me." Beige followed Erika to a route west of Celadon City, but he wasn't sure if he could still trust the woman. Erika had her Bellsprout cut down a small bush, which allowed them to progress through a fence. Beyond this fence, lay some green grass. A Farfetch'd flew onto a tree and smiled at Beige, holding a leek the pokemon carried up at the trainer. It flew closer.

"Not the best flying type..." Beige muttered.

"But it will do." Erika stated.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Three men sat in the middle floor of the Celadon Prize Corner, playing cards listlessly while they waited for someone to come through the door. It had been a slow day for them. Normally, it was necessary for all three to be present, because people would be piling in with their winnings. It wasn't hard to win big at the Rocket Game Corner, just as it wasn't hard to win tickets from the machines at recreational places like Chuck-E-Cheese's. However, the scam was the same: money didn't translate well into game coins. Whether you earned a bunch of "funny money" or not, the prize typically wasn't worth the real cash spent in the process. It was how the place continued to be able to afford three receptionists for one prize corner.

The door suddenly creaked open, and the men looked up from their cards to see Hibiki dragging a large sack of prize coins behind him. With a heave, he thumped the sack onto the table, then massaged his arms gingerly.

"Hey, fellas. Just wondering what I can get for that."

The men exchanged knowing glances, and one of them pulled out a scanner to count the coins. Almost 3,000. A nice bundle to be sure, but it wouldn't get him much more than a couple of trinkets. Perhaps a Mystic Water, a cheap flute, and a low-tier TM. "Here ya go, big winner," the tallest one said, handing Hibiki a prize catalog. "Items are on page one. Pokemon are on page two, and TMs are on page three. You've got about three thousand coins to work with, so if you want something like the Ice Beam TM, you're gonna have to go back and earn more."

Hibiki skimmed the page for a few seconds, then tapped his prize of choice. "That one. I've been wanting one of those since before I started my journey."

The tall man looked, and his eyebrows pressed together, seeing what he had picked. "You sure? I mean, don't get me wrong, ours are top quality, but nobody ever picks those. They're a bitch and a half to raise."

Hibiki stared at him with resolute eyes, and the man shrugged. "You're the boss. Got any particular nature in mind? You may as well choose one with a temperament you like, 'cause you'll be in it for the long haul."

***

Once he was back out in the warm sunshine, Hibiki checked his watch. Half-past noon. He knelt, and patted his newest pokemon tenderly on the head, before putting the Exp Share on it. "We are gonna give Gold's Dragonite a run for his money," he said, smiling as he pulled out an empty pokeball to accept the blue serpent. "Welcome to the team, Dratini. I'm going to make you a star."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

A trio of three rocket grunts swaggered into the Game Corner, giving Hibiki a strange look before they entered. But these were not Enforcers in a desguise. They emerged from the Game Corner to greet Beige and Erika. Beige was staring at a poke ball with his newfound Farfetch'd, Baron. The trio of rocket grunts led Erika and Beige to a man hole in a darkened alleyway, that was seperate from the rest of the city. Beige looked down it and saw Leaf.

"Beige?" Leaf asked.

"Well...we were bound to meet at somepoint in this damm town!" Beige exclaimed.

"Shush." One of the Rocket goons whispered. "We don't wanna get caught."

Leaf walked briskly towards Beige. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Down this manhole...are the sewers..." Erika said. "I am Erika, by the way."

"Erika? That rings a bell. Weren't you the gym leader a few years ago? You were!" Leaf replied as Erika nodded.

"Gale put me out of business when I started to oppose Red. Now let us progress." One of the Rocket members took the manhole off of the ground. It made a metallic ringing sound. Erika looked down. "Funny. I never dared go to the sewers before. They seemed to dirty for me..."

"Yet here you are." Beige replied. "And you call yourself 'graceful.' But seriously, i'm curious as to what's down here. The Rocket grunts here claim to be legit...but how do we know? I've already been fooled once by a bunch of Enforcers claiming to be grunts and then their leader appears and it turns out to be the Gale!"

"Where was that?" Leaf asked.

"In the old hideout in the Rocket Game Corner. It turns out the old hideout is now used by the Enforcers. They tricked me!" Then the Rocket grunts climbed down a red metal ladder into the sewers.

"How did you find these grunts?"

"Erika just seemed to know them. They came to the gym, which was hiding away, amongst the trees. I can't tell whether or not they'd be lying, but, if it were a trick, i'd have found out by now."

"Listen...I don't know what you're trying to pull yourself into but...I guess I'll come to make sure you're okay. I visited the Celadon University which is currently under construction and the professor there gave me an Eevee. When he wasn't looked, I swiped another one, just for you." Leaf handed Beige a poke ball.

"Huh. Funny, I just caught a new pokemon. Thanks!"

The group then decended into the dark plagued hazy pathways that were the Celadon Sewers.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki was, at his roots, a country bumpkin who had never really known the urban life. Despite his check of Celadon Pokemon Center's city map, he soon found himself lost, and finally entered a building for reference. Much like the Game Corner, it took on the appearance of an arcade at first impression, with people standing all over the place in a massive room filled with machines. In one corner sat an exchange machine, which trainers used to trade pokemon to each other. In most other spots, however, there were assortments of various pokemon eggs in glowing, transparent glass cases.

Incubators, thought Hibiki, slightly proud of himself for knowing the word. He approached one, and the woman who had been standing and staring at the egg glanced at him. Hibiki looked back to her and nodded politely, before shooting a glance at the incubating egg.

"So . . . what's that?"

"You mean, what's inside?" The woman shrugged. "We have a few guesses, but nobody's certain yet. Once the creature within has developed its shape a bit more, we'll be able to judge from the outline. For now, the egg's actual size suggests a relatively large pokemon."

She caught sight of Hibiki's pokedex and smiled cordially. "Ah. A Red Candidate. We've been wondering when you guys would show up. The Master instructed our staff to be on the lookout for you, but it seems you found us first. I'm Doctor Langston."

Hibiki shook hands with her, mildly surprised at his good fortune. "Hibiki. It's a pleasure. But why were you told to search us out?"

Doctor Langston pointed across the floor at the multiple incubating eggs. "Master Red wanted his initiates to experience multiple aspects of the Trainer Journey, including egg hatching. However, since The Great Egg Research Center is one of the only official channels for such activity, we wanted to make sure we got to you before you left. Of course, it is up to you whether or not you take an egg with you. Just be aware that if you do, it will take up one of the six slots in your team, and it will be your weakest pokemon when it hatches."

Hibiki stared at the closest egg, slightly hesitant. "Isn't that kind of a big responsibility?" he asked. "Like, don't I have to be really careful with it, and imprint on the hatchling when it comes out, and feed it special food or something?"

"You are quite correct," Langston said crisply. "That is why only pokedex holders and others hand-selected by Red are entrusted with eggs. As an incentive for the work required, the eggs we distribute contain uncommon-to-rare pokemon within, who know moves that natural-born species do not. Think Growlithe with Morning Sun, or a Machop that knows all the elemental punches." She tilted her head toward the trade machine in the corner. "As for the trainers who are unsatisfied with the pokemon they end up receiving, they have the option to trade theirs in for one they prefer."

Hibiki considered this, and glanced down at his pokeball belt. "Well . . . I guess I do have a sixth slot available for my team. I've also got a Kadabra that I might as well trade, since he's never gonna evolve naturally."

The Doctor gave a patient smile. "This exchange is for egg pokemon only, I'm afraid. You'll have to peddle your Kadabra somewhere else. Now, then . . . do you have any questions for me?"

Once again, Hibiki looked carefully at the differently-shaped eggs in the room. "I just found this place accidentally, so this is a bit sudden. Do I have to take an egg?"

"No. But it is encouraged. And I know Master Red would think better of you for hatching one." Langston's response carried an undertone of warning. Hibiki got the message.

"Alright. I'll show you my team, and let you pick one that you think would be a good fit." Hibiki held up two fingers. "Question number two. Can you help me find the gym in this city?"

*HIBIKI'S FULL TEAM
Charmeleon
Nidoqueen
Onix
Kadabra
Dratini
Mystery Egg

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

The sewers were dark, and mysterious and dirty. The group walked across a pathway made by bricks. Next to them ran a small but noticable river of green and blue water. The green tint told them it was dirty and came from the houses of Celadon and all around Kanto. Rattatas ran past them, while Raticates looked down into the water on the bank. A couple of Zubats hung from the ceiling and, at the group's arrival, flew into another part of the dungeon. A group of Grimers emerged from the sewer waters, one coming from a puddle on the ground. Three Koffings hovered in the air, and fled in sight of the trainers.

The Rocket grunts led Beige and the group towards a large metal fence at the end of the bank. There was an opening where two guards stood. One of them was a small man with black hair and the other was a woman with a brown ponytail. These were dressed in the same uniform as the other three grunts.

"Hello." One of the Rocket Grunts said, that was next to Beige said to the guards.

"You've arrived back, with some pokemon trainers." The male Rocket guard responded.

"You three may pass." The female Rocket guard said.

The two Rocket guards moved to the side to allow the three other grunts to enter.

"This is Mistress Erika?" The male Rocket guard asked.

"Yes." Erika replied.

The two guards then allowed Erika to move past. Beige and Leaf marched up towards the enterence. The Rocket guards then blocked them.

"Why are they allowing the grunts and Erika to go past but not us?" Beige whispered.

"I don't know. I really want to see who's leading this new Rocket group. Let me handle this." Leaf whispered to Beige. "Hey!" Leaf shouted, approaching the guards. "Why won't you let us past?"

The three grunts and Erika were nowhere to be seen beyond the gate. The two Rocket grunts smiled at Leaf. "First you must prove yourself." Both grunts launched poke balls onto the brick floor. A battlefield soon became apparent as a Grimer was sent out by the man and an Ekans by the woman.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki's battles with his last two gyms had gone much the same as when he had taken on the Pewter and Cerulean gyms, only in reverse. Cade's ghost pokemon had been under-leveled, and were thus doomed to failure the moment Charmeleon had learned the powerful Flamethrower attack. Gale's pokemon were MUCH higher-leveled, but they were also literally stonewalled from the moment Onix made his massive appearance. That was the problem with Kanto fliers: unless they were Charizard, Gyarados, or Dragonite, they were confined to attacking with normal or aviary-type physical moves. Onix's ultimate defense was a hard counter to these, and every time Hibiki commanded the Curse technique, it pounded another nail in Gale's coffin. She attempted every trick in the Flying-type movepool to counteract Onix: Sand-attack, Featherdance, Supersonic, and even a few Earthquakes from Aerodactyl. It was to no avail. She might just as well have tried to destroy a stone statue with a jar of butterflies. Yet in spite of his four straight victories against bird pokemon at least ten levels above him, Onix gained very little experience from the battle. There was someone else drawing it in, and this creature would need a lot.

Gale was clearly annoyed to have lost to one pokemon in a four-on-four match, but apparently not surprised. After a little inquiry, Hibiki discovered that her flying pokemon had fallen to Erika's Grass-types earlier that day, in spite of the fact that Gale should have had the type advantage. Well, no wonder Hibiki beat her so handily. If Gale couldn't even stand up to pokemon that were weak to her team, how could she stand against a pokemon SHE was weak against?

"Why were you fighting Erika in the first place?" he asked, as he accepted her badge. "Is this a gym rivalry thing, like the Fighting and Psychic face-off in Saffron City?"

"Partially," grumbled Gale. "But it was more for the fact that I had the renegade Beige within my grasp, and Erika snatched him away."

Hibiki felt a hot swoop of anger in his stomach at the mention of Beige's name: a sensation that was unfortunately becoming familiar. Once again, Beige's lucky star had guided a sympathizer to his rescue. But was it luck? Was it coincidence? Or was there something larger at work here, that was steadily raising the kid from obscurity to infamy? Oh, how Hibiki wished that he held the power of an Elite, that he might break through all the bumbling incompetence and finally nail Beige's balls to the wall. Yet even as he thought this, he remembered Gold's words.

He's alive because Red LET him live. Let some other guinea pig find out why.

Perhaps the only sure way to defeat Beige would come when Red himself would command it of Hibiki. But that would only happen if Hibiki performed impressively enough to earn Red's personal favor. So be it.

Hibiki turned his gaze southward. Down in Fuchsia City lay the Poison-type gym, over which Koga's daughter Janine presided. If Hibiki overcame her, the one who had foiled Koga in Lavender, he would earn reputation points in the eyes of the law. On the other hand . . . if he first traveled east to Saffron, he could join up with Sabrina and establish himself as a worthy Red Candidate. That is, if he didn't bungle things while she was watching. Well, then . . . best go for Janine first. It was a long road to Fuchsia, but the Safari Zone was there, and it might provide him a much-needed edge for his team.

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

Stephan marched into Celadon City, and, taking a glance of Hibiki, rushed towards him. "You! You're the one who was with Beige during that Lighthouse fiasco! I remember because you just stood there, acting as if nothing was happening while Beige took my Kingler out and the radio system!"

Gale flew on her Pidgeot towards Hibiki. "Stephan. There you are." She looked at Hibiki. "What's he doing here?"

"You know Hibiki?" Stephan asked.

"He just challenged my gym. I came to find you. You said you'd come."

"I did. This boy seems to have some resentments towards Beige from what some guards have reported. He sounds like he could be quite the asset to us. You're trying to trap Beige, yes?"

"Indeed. Reports from multiple Enforcers I have stationed around Celadon suggest that he's gone down into the sewers with a group of people. Three of them were wearing the traditional Rocket uniform. I think I saw Erika come with him too."

"Boy, do you want to help us catch Beige, once and for all? I can tell you don't like him either. We could also catch some rebelious Rocket monsters while we are down there? Just you, alone, could go into those sewers after Beige and trick him somehow."

"That plan sounds well thought out!" Gale said sarcastically, before laughing.

"Listen, he can help us! If he's able to beat you then...he's a good trainer..."

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki crossed his arms. Over the course of his journey, he'd discovered that he had a knack for developing lightning-fast relationships with people, one way or the other. There were those he befriended almost instantly, like Mason, Officer Fisher, and Petra . . . and then there were the ones he took immediate dislike to, such as Beige, Odessa, and yes, Stephan. He set his feet.

"Let me be clear. I want Team Rocket gone as much as anybody. I couldn't sleep my first night in Viridian City because they were blowing up public property and setting criminals loose on the streets. Same with Beige- he's a deceiver and a serial killer."

Hibiki's eyes narrowed. "But don't ask me to partake in such underhanded tactics as luring Beige to his end. I'll be happy to assist you, but only if I'm allowed to play straight. That's my first condition."

He paused, long enough to let the words sink in.

"My second condition is that I'll take on anyone you need me to, EXCEPT Beige. He's a slippery weasel, and someone's always leaping in to save his ass. I'll help to prevent that, but I can't battle him directly unless the situation leaves me no other choice." He gave Stephan a look. "For that matter, you should only take him on if you're better-equipped than last time. He's only gotten stronger since then."

Hibiki spread his arms invitingly. "If my conditions are acceptable to you, then lead on. We'll give the rest of the Enforcers a suitable vanguard for this take-down operation."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"Slippery Weasel? Don't you mean to say 'slippery Sneasel?' Fine. We'll let you go straight in...no secret Enforcer stuff." Stephan said, calmly.

"But how will we deal with Beige?" Gale asked.

"Call Sabrina."

"Wha-why?!" Gale exclaimed.

Then, a pink mist appeared as a young woman appeared with a similar pink vest and long black leggings with long night black hair. She looked at Stephan. "You called me?"

"How did you-"

Stephan was interupted by Sabrina. "I'm a psychic. I can see your conversation from great distances because i've tagged you with my magic. Get over it."

"Now why did you call upon her?" Gale asked.

"I need a Team Rocket grunt. They need to have a weak mind. Not like one of Beige."

Sabrina teleported and appeared again with an old man in a Team Rocket uniform. She put her hand on the man's forehead as it glowed and the man's eyes filled with light. There was a small flash as Sabrina took her hand off.

"Who do you support?" Sabrina asked.

"The Enforcers..." The old man said, in a rather clumsy manner. "Team Rocket must be stopped..."

"You've brainwashed him...using magic?" Gale asked.

"Indeed." Sabrina answered.

"Now, we just need to place him with Hibiki and it'll look like Hibiki's been invited to join Team Rocket. But he hasn't!" Stephan chuckled.

"Now...where would Beige and the Team Rocket members he was sneaking around with be hiding?" Sabrina asked.

"We've had reports of Team Rocket grunts sneaking around near the backstreet alleyways....maybe we should-"

"The alleyways tend to have large manholes don't they? Well, if that's correct, they're in the sewers. I think the base may well be there."

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki felt his temple twitch. "Stephan," he said firmly, "you need to listen when others talk. I am NOT going to pretend like I'm trying to accept a Rocket invitation. It's dishonorable, and that's not how I roll. Especially not if I mean to join Red's Honor Guards one day." He pointed at himself. "Besides, how dumb do you think they are? Do you think they won't recognize Gold's little brother? Even if I were to wear a mask, they'd want me to take it off."

He shifted his focus to the hypnotized Rocket guard. "How about we just have this goon lead us to their lair? Assuming, that is, you brought along enough firepower for when they start coming out in mass."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"Oh, I forgot you said he was Gold's brother." Gale said.

"Listen, boy." Stephan began. "You will follow us. You will obey all orders we give you. When we have lured Beige and the Rocket goons out of the located base, we will attack them, in a suprise attack. We'll send this hypnotised rocket grunt first. Then, you can help by talking that boy to hell. Creep up to him and knock him out."

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

"I'm not a combatant," Hibiki replied, "but if I can get close enough to Beige, I'll swing my stick at his head or something. I just hope he isn't trained in martial arts." He raised his arms. "Are we going, then? Are we waiting for the local enforcers to get into position? Or do you still need more time to improvise your plan? You're in charge here; I'm just following along."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"Okay, so follow me, we think we've found a manhole leading to the part of the sewers the Rocket thugs are hiding." Stephan ordered. Gale had a number of Enforcers tag along and the group moved to a dark alleyway on the side road. A large green manhole was fixed on the concrete. An Enforcer sent out a Rhydon and a Seaking, which both used horn drill to open the cover.

The brainwashed Enforcer jumped down. "Go with him." Gale ordered Hibiki. "We'll be waiting here. Just lure him out, that's the plan."

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki dug into his giant backpack and fished around for a moment, before pulling up a pair of thick boots. "If I'm going to walk through the crap, urine, and menstrual cloths of an entire city," he muttered, "I'm damn well gearing up." He popped a peppermint into his mouth, then clicked on a flashlight and strapped it to his waist. Stephan reached out and taped a mini-microphone with a wire around his ribs. "Don't take that off," he growled. "That's for monitoring you in case you get yourself too deep into trouble."

"Yeah, well, I'm definitely counting on getting too deep in something," Hibiki grumbled, grasping the ladder rungs that led down the manhole into the sewer's darkness. "This was not what I thought I'd be doing when I woke up this morning."

Once he was at the bottom, he traveled along the narrow path beside the river of human waste, keeping pace with Sabrina's mind-slave Rocket. Every now and then, some rats and Poison-type pokemon slid in and out of view, but he only had to fight outright a couple of times. Kadabra made short work of the subterranean fauna.

After about five minutes of walking, the Rocket member stopped, and pointed at the shadowy outline of a chain-linked fence. There were electric lights glowing behind it, signifying a settlement nearby. Hibiki could see the upright postures of guards at the border, and he was immediately certain that they were already aware of his presence, having seen his light from far off. He paused, and took a moment to contact the team above.

"I think I've found the base. It's about a quarter mile straight north of the entry point. Are you guys ready to back me up?"

He waited. No response.

"I know you guys can hear me. Did you really send me down here with one-way radio?"

Nothing.

"Alright, I see how it is. Guess I'll do this my way, then."

With that, Hibiki strolled straight ahead, hands in his pocket, whistling tunelessly as he approached the Rocket guards. He only stopped when they barred his path, pokeballs gleaming in the electrical lamplight.

"Halt! Who are you? What are you doing down here?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Hibiki, maintaining a calmer exterior than he was used to. "Relax. I'm not here to fight unless you make me. I'm more of a messenger, here to deliver an ultimatum."

The two guards stared at him with astonished disbelief, apparently unable to fathom how a kid of his stature could be so brash. "You're in a pretty poor position to make threats," said one with a Brooklyn accent.

Hibiki shrugged. "It's the best I've got at the moment. I'm stuck between a Rocket and a hard place. Anyway, it's a rather basic message, and one you'll recognize when you hear it." He pointed upwards. "One fatass, two Gym Leaders, and a few dozen Enforcers are poised to swarm down here in mass, and it'll take them five minutes tops to get here. That's how long it took to find your base, by the way. Top-notch, guys, real subtle." He gave an ironic thumbs-up before continuing. "It was supposed to be a surprise attack, but as I told the fatass, I don't find honor in that sort of thing. Guess he should have listened before forcing me down here."

He spread his arms invitingly. "See? I just did you a solid. Now you know that you're on the verge of attack by a superior force. I mean . . . that's just a hunch on my part, but if you were even close in strength, you wouldn't be hiding in the city toilet, would you? Well, the jig is up; they know you're here. This ends one of two ways. What's that phrase you're so fond of-? . . . Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

Hibiki backed away, hands clasped behind him. "Surrender is the sane option, here. If you're willing to discuss the terms, I know that you have a kid with you about my age, who loves dressing in a particular color. Beige. Bring him out, as a show of good faith."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"What should we do?" The woman Rocket guard asked the man.

"Let him enter." He whispered.

The two stepped aside to let Hibiki through. "The boy you speak of is now with our master. Keep going through the doors and follow the directions to get to his office."

(Beige's persepctive)

Beige and Leaf had defeated a number of Team Rocket grunts. They realised that they were testing him. Many Grimers, Koffings and Ekans had fainted. Seeing Leaf and Beige's strength as battlers, Ariana, a Rocket admin, stopped the battling. She had a distinct red hair. She took the group to her boss's office. When they entered the room, Erika was standing there, waiting for the Team Rocket Boss to appear. Both Erika and Ariana stood there as admins, but Erika had not confronted her boss. There was a large black mastermind style chair, kind of expensive and a wooden table. From the darkness, a man stepped out. Beige instantly recognised him as the man from Lavender Town, the one who claimed to know his father.

"Ah, Beige, we meet again!" The man exclaimed. A Persian appeared next to him and made a loud vibrating sound.

"You! We met at Lavender town!" Beige roared.

"In the outpost you destroyed. Ha, I know. And I know of your efforts to expose the Enforcers for what they are. Excellent."

"And they passed the test." Ariana added.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

As the Rocket guards beckoned Hibiki onward with their hands, he drew further back and laughed mirthlessly. "You're inviting me in, now? Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? A hostage to exchange for your freedom?"

He shook his head. "No, I worded it the way I did for a reason. You guys can bring Beige out here, and I'll wait. Clock's ticking."

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"In that case...you're gonna have to battle every single grunt in this place..." One of the grunts said, approaching Hibiki.

"Be a dear and cooperate." One of the women grunts said to Hibiki. "You're going to have to see our master if you want Beige. He's currently speaking to him."

(Beige's persepctive)

"Who are you?" Leaf asked.

"Well...i've only told a few people. As I have told Beige already my wife was killed during a blast from Red's mega weapon during the the Great Wars. He used the power of a genetically altered pokemon to power it. But we've found the blueprints in Lavender town for part of the mega weapon. In fact, there were three seperate blueprints acrosss Kanto, scattered. We now have all three of them and we can proceed to create a weapon, powerful enough to destroy all the major Enforcer bases and Red's location at the pokemon league. The weapon, we've made does not require a pokemon to power it up. I had coined the name the 'Devil's Prism.' If you would please follow-"

"Sir, there's a pokemon trainer at the gates. He wishes to see Beige." A Team Rocket grunt's face said this as he appeared on a large screen behind him."He refuses to come in."

"Bring him in at all costs! If he wishes to find Beige, he'll have to go through me. I'm certain he wants to cause trouble."

"How do you know that?" Beige asked.

Footage of the trainer appeared on the screen. It wass all caught on a CCTV camera they had installed.

"That's Hibiki!" Leaf shouted.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki's eyebrows raised in surprise and mild alarm, and he continued his slow backtrack with a carefully-maintained distance between himself and the Grunts. "This wasn't about my cooperation," he said, allowing a hint of regret into his tone. "It was about yours- choosing nonviolence when you were informed of impossible odds. I don't control the Enforcers above. I could only attempt to sway them towards mercy. But I will not put myself at yours."

He tapped the mini-microphone Stephan had wired around his ribcage. "Hibiki to Surface Team. I'm sure you caught all that, but they all intend to fight before sending out Beige. Diplomacy was a no-go; I'm falling back now. If you've already deployed, I'll rendezvous with you partway."

Hibiki returned his focus to the Rocket grunts across the way, a pokeball now in his hand. "I WILL have to fight you when next we meet. Sorry it had to be this way. Please prepare yourselves." He hastened his retreat into the darkness, wary of any pursuit, and prepared for an early fight if it came to it.

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"I want you to go in." Stephan said to Hibiki through a microphone that was dangling next to his face. "Talk to their new leader. I've heard rumours that he's very accepting to new members. I want you to go up to him...and tell him you're joining Team Rocket. Then we'll teleport to your location and grab Beige in the raid. Have you got me?"

Beige followed the man to a large red triangle. There was a circle in the middle where a laser gun was expected to lauch itself out of this 'Devil's prism' and the man explained how it worked to the group. He ordered Erika and Ariana to take Hibiki to him. Then the man battled Beige in a battle. The man had five ground type pokemon and a Persian. He easily defeated Beige and Beige was shocked as all his pokemon were defeated it one go when the man showed his tactic of switching the ground type pokemon out with his Persian.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Hibiki nearly slipped on a puddle of sludge as Stephan's voice issued in his ear. His forehead broke out into cold sweat at the order. He had long since made up his mind that Stephan was an incompetent police chief, but it was only just now dawning on him that the man was outright crooked. His order to send Hibiki in to the Rocket lair was akin to a cop commanding a random civilian to investigate a dark alley filled with gangbangers. Hibiki had very clearly told the guards that he was unwilling to entrust himself to their mercy, and Stephan had heard it as well. The fact was, he simply didn't care.

It was time to make a decision. For a brief second, Gold's face flashed into Hibiki's mind.

"Negative," he responded into the microphone, hardening his resolve. "I won't follow that order, and mark my words, Red will hear about how you tried to throw me to the wolves. YOU are everything that's wrong with the Enforcers, Stephan, and one day, I'll see you put behind bars right alongside the terrorists!"

He didn't wait for a response, but tore off the wire and chucked it into the sewer water. Another day, another new enemy. The Enforcers would doubtlessly be after him now, per Stephan's orders, at least until he could find a way to contact Red and explain what had happened. Until then, he was out of the frying pan, and into the fire. His next immediate concern was finding a manhole that led out of the sewers: one which wasn't already crawling with Enforcers blocking the way. It wouldn't be easy. After mulling it over in his mind for a minute, he ducked into the darkest corner he could find. Perhaps if, or when, the Enforcers swarmed down, he would vanish in the chaos that followed. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to wait this one out.

 

[What Did You Do To Snoke?]

"What?!" Stephan shouted, hearing the fuzzyness on the end of the line, realising Hibiki had cut him off. He turned to the group of Enforcers next to the manhole. "Get in there! Find Beige and slaughter the Rocket grunts!" The Enforcers nodded in agreement then marched down into the sewers and the Rocket grunts, who were in hiding made a movement noise. They were sighted by the Enforcers who sent out their pokemon to attack. The Rocket grunts reponded by sending out their pokemon to protect them.

"Sir, the Enforcers have found the location of our base! They've sent some of their minions to attack!" Ariana reported to the man who was behind the Rocket organisation.

"Damm it. They're onto us. Prepare the base for evacuation. Unfortunately, we only have three helicopters. That's only enough for one or two batchs of grunts." The leader of the operation stated. "Come with me!" The man led Leaf and Beige into a helicopter which was located even more under the ground, going down some stairs which were through the door. There were two other helicopter pads and groups of grunts soon boarded the other helicopters on them. They took flight. A hatch in the middle of the ceiling opened for each of the three helicopters. Beige stared around at the people in the helicopter he was in. Most of them were Team Rocket grunts as expected and all three helicopters were large. The man responsible for this organisation was definitely rich in some sense, yet the dirtyness of this one base and it's location suggested otherwise. The Enforcers managed to push through the base even though they were outnumbered at first. Then, it turned the otherway around. The grunts that were left behind were the ones that were independent, able to find their way out easily or ones who could survive during interragation should they be captured.

As the three helicopters popped out from the north of Celadon City, a group of helicopters followed them. These helicopters were blue and armoured, in contrast to the black ones the groups were in. In the helicopters were open doors and windows and Beige could clearly see there were Enforcers in these. They were tracking them down. In the lead, was a helicopter with a woman standing on the side. She took a glimpse of the group as she sent out a Fearow, Pidgeot and a Fardfetch'd, who pursued the three helicopters, causing dents in the two helicopters behind the one Beige and Leaf were in.

"Shit." One of the Team Rocket grunts whispered.

"That's Gale!" Beige shouted. "She's the gym leader of this town!"

"This is crazy!" Leaf screamed. "The gym leader of this town is helping the Enforcers! They're actually doing a good job too!"

Beigre readied his pokeball, as did the leader of Team Rocket, his two executives Ariana and Erika and the grunts.

 

[Ry_Burst]

Jax’s team had gotten stronger for two reasons. First off, he expanded. Instead of just having his three Pokemon, Pika, Rouge, and Fury, he also added a female Poliwag, and a male Growlithe. He had given them the names, Polly and Blitzer, respectively. Polly was a Pokemon who often hated to be ignored and had a somewhat feisty temper. However, her counterpart was Blitzer who was much more lax. However what he lacked for in enthusiasm, he made up for in power.

After a good deal of time on Route 8, Jax spent a good deal of time, training with a Biker Gang, who weren’t as mean as they looked. They were actually quite friendly. And with some intense work with Polly, she had already reached her evolution, just a few days after being caught.

However as he entered Celadon, he soon discovered, hell had broke loose. This was part of the problem of Red’s regime, in Jax’s opinion. People were not only quick to attack, but to resists, causing trouble for all the people who got caught in the crossfire. In the sky was three helicopters, with three Pokemon trailing behind them, attacking.

“Jesus, I hate to be involved. But I have to get tugged into this. Go Fury!” Jax was quite annoyed with what was going on, but was quick to realize that the Pokemon trailing behind were flying types. Gale’s Flying Types to be precise. He had heard mention of Gale from the bikers, and there often was mention of how she was rumored to be an Enforcer and had to deal with the Rockets time and time again. Might as well receive some attention that could tell Red of who he was. Or get some kind of reputation. If he wanted to battle Red, he would need some way to prove himself. Doing something like this, could be a good reason for that.

As soon a the Fearow materialized, Jax slid onto it’s back. “Okay, get us close to those Helicopters!” He shouted as the duo were raised into the air. Fury’s win’gs were flapping as they flew high, with Fury doing his best to catch up with the Helicopters and Bird Pokemon. But with the added weight, he was slower. Jax hadn’t thought this through.

Jax looked at Fury, before realizing something. He was limited by Jax’s body weight on his wings, keeping him from going to his full speed. “Okay. Listen to me Fury. I’m going to fall off. I need you to catch my shoulders with your claws. I’m trusting you. Okay?” Jax was shouting with the wind blowing across his face. Fury gave a nod, and Jax squeezed his eyes shut. It would suck if it all ended here.

He fell. What happened next is a mystery to Jax. He left his body fell back, and for a moment, he was freefaling backwards. But in a quick snatch he felt claws dig into his shoulders. He had been caught. “Now, full speed ahead!” Jax shouted as he opened his eyes. In this position, Fury’s speed increased and it was a much faster pace now.