Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
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"GARY, ARE YOU OKAY!?"
"Fuck off."
"I'M GONNA TELL MY MOM YOU SAID THAT!"
"Wha-Come on, don't be a bitch!"
"YOU'RE GONNA GET IN TROUBLE!"
"Gary, stop being rude. Ash, grow up."
"You're not my mom, Gretchen."
"Don't call me that!"
"EVERYONE SHUT UP AND STOP YELLING!"
"YOU'RE YELLING TOO, MISTY!"
I inhaled deeply through my nose, held it, and let it out slowly through my mouth, even as it ticked and spasmed. Calm, Peri. Control. Don't sink to their level or start a fist fight.
Even if it would be oh-so-satisfying.
"Guys…" I tried, to little avail.
"YOU'RE SO MEAN, GARY!"
"Trying to hide how much he sucks, no doubt. Sad, really."
"Okay, you wanna go, let's go! I'll put you in the PokéCenter, so I won't have to hear your annoying ass voices anymore!"
Whimpering reached my ears from beneath the table, and I felt the fury smolder.
Well, maybe just a couple of punches. To the throat.
CRACK!
Everyone under the large tarp flinched as Brock's Geodude smashed its hands together with a rocky thunderclap. The oldest teen amongst the group reached up and removed the earplugs I hadn't seen him put in, and gazed over our group.
"Are you done?" There was something in his voice, something disappointed and stern that managed what no amount of threats could and made all of us sink into our chairs. "Good. Now, apologise to all the nice people who simply wanted to have a nice meal and instead had to deal with that."
Sure enough, the two dozen or so other people at Rosalia's Blossom were giving us sideeyes, a group of older ladies in colorful dresses and enormous hats not bothering to lower their voices as they complained about the 'youth of today', in between massive gulps of their wine glasses.
"""Sorry!""" Ash, Misty, and Green called out, Brock nodding apologetically.
I shovelled in a huge mouthful of noodles instead, meeting Brock's gaze blankly. For once, I didn't do shit.
Predictably, Gary didn't join the rest either, but the redness of his face and his reluctance to meet anyone's eyes said it all. It made me feel a little bit sad, honestly. If there was one upside to all the yelling, it was that Gary forgot himself for a moment and fell back into old routines.
As much as it had been pissing me off as well, I didn't really get the big deal. There were more than fifty feet between the large circular tables – each fit to hold a dozen people or Pokémon – and there was plenty of noise around as everyone had at least one of their Pokémon out and about, either chomping through their food or loudly playing around the enormous field of the restaurant. Half of the large outdoor area was shaded by a large tarp set up to provide some protection from the sun, while trees and flowers dominated the other half, with a small lake and rivers snaking up towards us. Siren had already inhaled her seaweed dish and was terrorizing the other Water-Types.
Though, to be fair, among the six of us, we did have 30-ish Pokémon running around, every member of our teams either enjoying the heat and – gag – sweet scent of Celadon, or eating the admittedly tasty food. As it turned out, Eevee, Vulpix, Gary's Growly, and I were the only ones who thought the city reeked. Everyone else had been caught up in the intoxicating aroma.
Looking over as Sol furiously rubbed himself against a patch of flowers, lying on his back and rocking back and forth even as he kept sneezing, I was reminded of Shannon talking about Gloom addicts back in Orre.
If my team got hooked on that shit, Erika was going to regret having so much flammable stuff around when I burned it to the ground.
Anyway, as I said, everyone was there, except Honedge, but that wasn't my fault. I hadn't been able to get it to come out of the Shadow Sneak since it went in.
Few Ghost-Types actually ate food, or at least food as we thought of it, and it was primarily the more biological. I hadn't really noticed, but Honedge had been siphoning parts of my Aura slowly and steadily. Not enough to do anything, but I did wake a little later than usual, though still before dawn.
So the sword stayed in my shadow, suckling my soul teat. I would have to find something else to get it to come out every once in a while. I couldn't really pet it, but maybe it needed honing?
Hehe, honing the Honedge.
A soft pawing at my leg made me look down into glacial blue eyes as Vulpix crawled up into my lap and whined for attention, nudging my free hand with her chilly snout.
I hesitated, but gave in to her insistent demands and petted the soft tuft of fur between her ears as she rubbed her head against my torso. The travel between Cerulean and Lavender gave me enough time that I at least didn't have flashbacks every time I looked at her, but that didn't mean I was super comfortable with the situation.
But progress was progress. It had worked out in the S.S. Anne because I was with people who could cover my dumb ass, but being lost in my own memories was guaranteed to get me and my team killed.
Having someone that friendly on the team was also good for the others. Especially Eevee, as the Normal-Type in question crawled up my leg and pushed Vulpix aside to get access to my other hand. The Evolution Pokémon wasn't… hostile or anything, but she hadn't truly bonded with anyone either. Siren and Hercules were hyperfocused on training; Betty and Sol were – for the most part – quite happy together.
With any hope, the two fox Pokémon could be something similar to each other.
Of course, seeing pets getting handed out inspired jealousy.
"Don't do it, I swear to-OH COME ON!" My chair tipped backwards, and dumped me on the grass as Sol took Vulpix and Eevee as permission to try and jump into my lap as well, his desire to be a dick overcoming whatever caution he had of Vulpix. In the end, I was buried under a mountain of happily panting, flower-smudged fur as the Growlithe squirmed around on top of me.
Which only drew Betty's attention to the cuddle pile. The two smaller Pokémon had the good sense to flee before the Dragon-Type dove belly-first onto us, even Sol groaning at the weight.
Struggling, I gave up, unable to move until they decided their fun was over. I could vaguely hear the others' laughter and silently swore my revenge.
Thankfully, my Pokémons attention span was horrific, and it didn't take more than a few minutes before they were running off again, closely followed by Hercules, whom I'd entrusted to watch Betty while we ate. Getting to release her in public was nice, but it also meant making sure she didn't screw around too much.
That poor Rhyhorn. It was just trying to be friendly.
"Yes, yes, yuck it up," I grumbled. Despite the nice surroundings, good food, and the company… well, spending time with my team was nice, but I couldn't calm down enough to enjoy it. "Listen, we gotta talk about something."
"Yeah, sure, not trying to change the topic at all." Misty's chuckle trailed off when she saw the serious expression on my face and how Gary immediately shut down. "Oookay, not just changing the topic. What's up?"
I hesitated, exchanging glances with Gary. How'd you start that kind of conversation?
"We've found a Team Rocket base, and we're going to destroy it."
Abruptly, apparently.
"WHAT!? YOU FOUND A-MMMMMHHHH!" My hand slapped over Ash's mouth hard enough that he rocked back in his chair, arms flailing. Luckily, Pikachu was sitting on the table – having snatched the provided bottle of ketchup and was downing the whole thing – so the mouse didn't have to worry about falling off.
"Shut up, moron!" I hissed, eyes darting around like a hummingbird. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but I didn't trust it at all. "Do you wanna warn them!?"
"What do you mean you've 'found a Team Rocket base'!?" Green had gone pale at our words, leaning in over the table. "Where, here? In Celadon? We have to tell the Gym and Officer Jenny!"
"No way!"
"Absolutely not!"
She seemed genuinely confused, taken aback by our swift answers. "B-but why!? If Team Rocket is in the city, the authorities need to know!"
"We can't trust them!" Gary jabbed a finger at Brock and Misty. "The shitty Clans have already shown how untrustworthy they are! No way the Gardeners are any better, not when it's underneath the fucking Game Corner!"
"The hell you say-!" Gary kept going, uncaring about Misty's and, to a lesser extent, Brock's outrage.
"They definitely have at least some of the Gym Trainers and cops on their payroll, and we don't know who. No, we can't tell anyone. We're on our own, so I say we bust in there, rescue the Pokémon, and kill all the Rockets!"
"That's not a bad idea." I pointed to Gary to signal my agreement.
"Absolutely not!" Green appeared less enthused. "That's a terrible plan! Are you even listening to yourselves!? E-even if you're right about the police, there's no way we can do something like this on our own, and I trust the Gym!. We need to tell Gym Leader Erika. My brother can-"
"Are you fucking dumb!? There's no way they don't know about a giant secret base in their casino!"
"I agree. Don't look at me like that, it's a valid point!" I said in response to Green's frown. It was. Building a whole underground base would've taken a while, even with Ground-Type Pokémon, and they needed a ton of supplies to keep that shit operational. There was no way the normal cops weren't at least on the Rockets' payroll. "I'm not saying they're all on the take, but between Sevii-the Orange League, I mean, Pewter, and at least Cinnabar, Team Rocket is way too well connected to take the chance. I know it's not ideal, but it's our best chance."
Ash's face had firmed up, the boy clearly on board already, and Misty seemed to be coming around as well, despite the whole Clan thing Gary mentioned. Brock didn't seem as convinced, but it was Green who really was against it. She hadn't been through the same shit we had. From her perspective, the Gym and League had been nothing but helpful and supportive.
But that didn't mean she was right.
"But-" Gary didn't allow her to get a word in.
"This is not a fucking discussion, it's a courtesy! We're going, with or without you! And I swear to Mew," his finger was right in Green's face as he leaned in, teeth bared in a snarl and eyes more than a little crazed, "if you fuck this up, if you fucking warn them, I'll-!"
"Okay, that's enough of that. Let's calm down a bit." I yanked him back before he could say something he'd regret. Already, as soon as he was done glaring at me, his face twisted once he saw the shocked look on Green's face. "Listen, I get that this isn't your usual thing, and I'm sure your brother is a nice guy who doesn't know shit about this, but we can't risk it. Who knows what kind of shit the Rockets are doing down there, and they'll fuck off at the first sign of trouble."
Sorry, Green, but I was with Gary. I couldn't risk you screwing it up.
"That's why we'll need to hit them hard and fast, and rescue the Pokémon down there before they can react. Now," I went on before she could interject again, "that doesn't mean we can't do something to alert someone once we get going. Blowing up the Game Corner seems to be a good start."
Green still didn't appear to be on board, but both Ash and Misty seemed fired up. Brock, meanwhile, was looking around at the other diners with a frown.
"Regardless of how we handle this, we shouldn't be talking about it in the open. They probably already know we're here, and they might decide to make the first move, even without knowing that we're going to attack them."
"I doubt they'll attack while we're in the city. We're strong enough to cause a ruckus, and why let on that they have a presence in Celadon where there are people around to help, as well? Makes more sense to track us into the wild and hit us while traveling."
"Still, you're not wrong," I scowled around, not seeing anything suspicious right off the bat. But that didn't mean it wasn't there. "We shouldn't have this conversation in public. Meet us in our room in the PokéCenter-"
"Are you crazy!?" Gary looked at me like I was stupid. "If they're in the casino, who knows if they're in the PokéCenter too! No, we'll sleep outside."
I shrugged, not really minding. I could buy a bigger tent then. It was getting a little cramped in the old one.
"Fine, meet us outside Celadon in the morning. We can do some quick training to familiarise ourselves with each other's teams."
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My eyes darted upwards for a second before lowering to the book held in front of my face again, pretending to read the words as I turned the page before repeating the motion as my target entered the building.
Average height and build, short dark hair, and an overly arrogant way of walking?
Definitely the same guy. That made 18 people who'd entered the Game Corner and seemed to vanish. Sure enough, a few moments later, a ding! came from my PokéDex as Brock confirmed that the guy had been let into the employee-only backroom.
"How'd it go?" I didn't bother looking; I easily identified Gary by the way he threw himself down on the bench, making the whole thing threaten to tip backwards.
"Stupidly easy. What the hell's the point of Gyms when they suck this much? It was my fourth Badge, as well!"
"Thought you didn't care about the Badge."
"I don't!" The petulance in his voice wasn't the most charming thing I'd ever heard. "But if I'm gonna do it, might as well make it worth my time! Besides, that fucking White Herb, or whatever they're smoking over there, is fucking noxious! Aww, my head. I feel high as shit."
I didn't bother responding. My own Badges hadn't necessarily been the hardest thing I'd ever done, other than Walter, crazy old man that he was, but despite my not liking or trusting the League, I didn't hold that part against them. My experience didn't really reflect the average.
Instead, I just handed over the book I'd been using as a decoy and pulled my hat slightly up as I stood, Eevee jumping to my shoulders. "Guess I'll go have a look myself. You good?"
"Yeah, yeah," he waved me off. "Go beat her up, not that that's a challenge. I'll keep an eye on this place. They'll never know I was here."
I lowered my sunglasses to look at his unblinking stare locked straight on the Game Corner, slouched on the bench.
"Right."
Whatever, nothing to be done. I'd just have to hurry up and whip Erika real quick. From everything I'd heard about her, from both Ash and Gary, as well as online, that shouldn't be a problem.
And then, once the Rainbow Badge was out of the way, the actual plan could begin.
The trip through Celadon was extremely confusing, even with street signs and an eventual digital map on my PokéDex. Something about the plentiful – and bountiful – gardens and parks, combined with the looming multistory buildings, messed with my head and sense of direction. I was convinced I passed the same carefully maintained greenhouses three times.
Watching as a small swarm of hexagonal bee-esque Pokémon, with black pinpricks for eyes and a mouth like a smiling V, flew around a large bush bursting with blue Oran berries that seemed on the verge of bursting through their skin, I tilted my head and got a little distracted.
Another, bigger Pokémon danced gracefully between the berry bushes, a scarlet flower with white-spotted petals upon its head; the flower had golden filaments with red anthers, resembling a crown. Dark and lighter green, linear leaves flowed from under the hat-like growth, one of the lighter ones on the back of the head as long as its body and resembling hair. Said head and abdomen were white, and its eyes, beady and seed-like, were a light shade of red. More green, linear leaves served as arms, and a large, light-green, tulip-shaped cluster of leaves seemed to drape over the body, resembling a dress.
Seeing the Lilligant and Combee dance happily after inspecting another fruit – a pink, vaguely heart-shaped one – I shook myself from the daze and continued towards the Gym, making a mental note to buy some berries before we left.
It wasn't something I'd spent much time looking into, but surely, making my team eat a shit-load of magic berries wouldn't hurt them.
Thankfully, we already had a planned trip to the famed Celadon Department Store either after my match, or the day after – depending on how it went.
Finally, I managed to stumble into the old Clan quarters and navigate my way through the dilapidated ghost town that stood as a reminder of the city's history in the ever-changing landscape outside the walled-off area.
In rather stark contrast to the Celadon Gym, I noted as the building came into view. I'd been too put off by the smell the last time to really look, so I took my time approaching. The stink was still there, but a whole day had me acclimated enough to no longer be in instant danger of vomiting.
Much like the rest of the Rainbow City, the Gym couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be new and pretty, or historical and ancient. Surrounded by another massive lawn full of ancient statues depicting humans and Grass-Types forgotten by time, the Gym itself rose tall, a glimmering structure of steel beams and stained glass. Roughly circular, the lower, main part of the building was modern and new, with large glass windows that exposed well-lit corridors with people walking by, allowing them to peer out at the trees and flowers, fountains spewing glimmering water that reflected off the walls.
And above, slightly off from each other and tilted in a way I imagined the Sensational Sisters would call 'stylish', five hexagons of pink glass hung like the petals of a Vileplume. Each of the 'petals' – divided into six quadrants each – glowed in the sunlight, throwing the colored rays towards the skyscrapers looming around the older part of the city, bathing Celadon in hues of pink, the tilt and angle of the hexagons changing the nuance from almost white to bright crimson.
Maybe I spoke too soon. Celadon was pretty, if nothing else.
City of Rainbow Dreams was still stupid, though.
As I wandered down the paved path leading towards the front door, Pokémon leapt around me, playing and frolicking in the grass and flowers. Humans mingled among them without concern, sitting on benches or blankets with their bare feet in the dirt or even the water of the fountains. It was a postcard-esque image of happiness and carefree people enjoying life.
Or, I mused as one guy who was balancing around on the edge of a water feature lost his balance and took a tumble into the water. His friends around him laughed hysterically, as did the guy himself as he emerged, soaked to the bone, and slipped again, vanishing beneath the surface as he tried to get out. The whole process was repeated another three times before the man managed to roll out onto the lawn, choking on water and laughter while making mud-angels as the dirt beneath him got wet.
Or, they were more than a little high. Even with some resistance to the all-encompassing Gloom pollen, I was lightheaded. Who knows how hard it was hitting normal people?
Okay, enough fucking around. I needed to get it over with before I joined the hippy crowd.
The lobby was the same as I remembered. Bright colors, comfortable seating arrangements facing large screens showing a compilation of various shots of Gym Trainers and Pokémon training and battling, Petunia, the receptionist, over in the corner, with her protruding noseplugs.
And the ever-present stench, of course. It was working: the more I was exposed to it, the more I could see the appeal, like a parasite slowly convincing its host that it wasn't that bad. I'd wrapped a handkerchief that I'd borrowed from Gary – because of course he had a handkerchief – around my neck and soaked it in some perfume from Green. It took the worst and let Eevee stay out, but it wasn't good enough.
"Don't suppose I could get a pair of those?" I asked Petunia with a pained smile, pointing towards my nose.
"Oh, you're Green's friend! Periwinkle, right?" I nodded as she searched for me in the database. After a moment, she winced and looked back up apologetically. "I'm afraid we only allow noseplugs for third Badge or below, and this is for your fourth. I'm really sorry."
"Not your fault, I guess." I wasn't happy about it, but truly, it wasn't her fault. Presumably. "But why, though? You guys just like drugging people? Too shit at battling, so you have to cheat?" My tone got a little harsh towards the end, but I couldn't hold it in. When I thought it was just a bad smell, that was one thing. But now that I knew it was essentially low-tier mind control? Even if it was harmless and, arguably, made the people happier?
It itched in my body with every breath. My esteem for the League fell with every day.
To my surprise, Petunia rolled her eyes and all but agreed with me. "Kind of. Since it's mild and has been argued not to be that different from something like Koga's poison, we get away with it, but you're not the first to complain, and won't be the last. At least it's restricted to the higher badges, though. I've heard that back in the day, the Gardener kids were basically raised in it."
"Damn." I didn't have anything to say to that. It sounded like it had gotten better, but that didn't mean it didn't still suck.
"Yeah." We stared at each other for a moment as her face got redder and redder. "Uh, I mean, I-I don-the Gym Leader is ready for you now!"
"Right. Thanks." I quickly left her behind, hearing a giant sigh and the sound of her forehead hitting her desk as I walked through the indicated door.
Man, that woman needed some more self-esteem. She didn't do anything wrong, don't know why she got so embarrassed.
Stepping through another door a little deeper inside, I whistled, impressed, as I came out in the main part of the Gym, a wall of humidity slamming into me. Despite being surrounded by much the same environment, the Celadon Gym was still probably the largest Gym I'd seen so far, maybe even bigger than Cerulean with all their pools. Trees stretched high in the enormous greenhouse, tropical species that I recognised from Sevii visible among the fake forest, vines climbing up the trunks. As expected, flowers were everywhere, but again, they differed from the ones outside. Shapes and colors I'd never seen were everywhere, their numbers small as people in large overalls and hats tended to them to protect them from the pink-ish light streaming down from the glass ceiling.
It was extremely humid, tropical, even. Sweat formed on my forehead immediately and the scent of earth, leaves, and hundreds of Pokémon was so strong it almost covered the Gloom scent.
Almost.
I lost count of the number of Pokémon I saw as I wandered through the Gym, asking a man and his Bayleaf for directions. The yellow dinosaur-esque Pokémon swung the leaf dangling from its head towards part of the enclosure, which I rewarded with a treat. Grass-Types were, of course, the most numerous – arguably followed by Poison-Type, given the amount of Oddish and other dual types I saw – but I was surprised by the number of Bug-Types. Mostly Combee and Beedrill, the wasps glaring at me when I got too close to their nests, but Beautifly and Dustox flew around among them as well as they spread pollen on the plants.
There were a couple of Bulbasaur relaxing near their Trainers, and as I neared the center, I swore a few of the trees shifted to keep facing me, slivers of red briefly cracking open before closing again.
I had an idea of what Ghost-Type Green had gotten her hands on.
Becoming more and more convinced they were fucking with me as the lightheaded feeling grew stronger, a headache coming with it, I finally gave up on the Gym Trainer or gardeners or whatever and simply walked to the middle.
The middle of Celadon Gym was different from the rest. I'd seen multiple patches of roughed-up dirt that people had used for training, but the center was clearly designed for it. The grass was short and missing in some spots, with divots where craters had been smoothed over poorly, and the nearest trees were far enough away to be out of the line of fire. A small lake sat to the side of the clearing, with a few rocks littering the field, but otherwise it was big and open, with little in the way of surprises or advantages to offer.
And in the middle of the obvious battlefield, barely visible under the mass of blue-green vines, were a pair of feet that stuck out, clad in old school slippers. Walking closer, I raised an eyebrow when nothing happened, a deep snoring audible now that I was so close. Lightly tapping the pile with my foot, I took a step back in case it was taken as hostile.
No need, as it turned out. A pair of large eyes, spherical and white, opened blearily to look at me. We blinked at each other for a while, the overly large Tangrowth staring sleepily.
"Uhh, I've got a match? With Erika? You've seen her?"
The huge Grass-Type kept looking at me blankly for a moment. It took so long that I thought it hadn't understood what I meant and went to speak again, when all of a sudden, the metaphorical lightbulb went off in Tangrowth's eyes, and it started wiggling excitedly.
Was being dumb a species thing? The one I'd met on Sevii had been the same, other than also being an absolute killing machine. Guess that was not the worst trade-
-I reared back as something was suddenly shoved right in my face, way too close to be comfortable. I could barely make out a pair of closed eyes and a softly open mouth before a couple of squirming vines followed me with Erkia Gardener's unconscious form held tightly.
A red hairband held back glossy black hair in a bob-cut, or at least did normally. At the time, it was dangling limply around her face as her head rolled around with the movements of her Grass-Type. Her skin was porcelain white, which surprised me, as I'd thought a gardener type would be more tan than that, and was only made more so by the subtle make-up she wore, bright red lipstick contrasting starkly. A green kimono that transitioned into yellow hid her body, large sleeves dancing as her arms were jerked around by Tangrowth's increasingly forceful attempts to show her off, and a long red skirt covered her lower half. She was young, a couple years older than Brock, but not much older than twenty.
While I was taking her in, her closed eyelids began flickering. Warm and bright emerald eyes cracked open, a delicate hand coming up to rub at them sleepily, as her deep red lips stretched in a monstrous yawn, and the Gym Leader woke up.
The noise of its Trainer being awoken exited the Tangrowth, and I found the almost doll-like woman shoved back in my face as she came to.
"T-Tangrowth, what is it? Are you hungry again-Oh." Somehow, it took the girl several seconds to notice her face inches away from a stranger. I backed away again, preparing myself for the reaction. "Hello. Are you here for a battle or to buy something? The store is the other way, I am afraid."
"Wha-Oh, uh, yeah, I-I'm here for a battle. Periwinkle, uh, Petunia said you were ready for me?" I looked at her as she dangled in the air, trying her best to stretch while being held off the ground. "Do you need a moment?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, I am ready." The Gym Leader yawned again and softly patted her Pokémon's vine. The huge tentacle monster warbled sadly as it pulled her away from me and over to the other side of the field, gently disposing her on her feet. "Thank you, Tangrowth." Turning back to me, I was once more surprised when Erkia bowed towards me. It wasn't the deepest bow, but still. "I must apologize. Such a first impression is not becoming of a Gym Leader. I am-" another yawn, and she swayed on her feet for a moment. "I am very tired, I am afraid. Most people find our special Gloom very pleasant smelling, but there are outliers. I myself become-" Yawn. "Become so very tired."
"Could be worse. At least you're not stuck with it smelling like a Skuntank's asshole. Seriously, it reeks."
"Oh?" Something changed in the sleepy gaze as she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a PokéBall. "I am very sorry to hear that. It is always a shame when our perfume fails to please. That being said," a Trainer came over, flanked by a pair of human-sized palmtrees with legs. Each of the two Exeggutor heads, six in total, blinked dumbly while flashing with soft green Psychic power as a barrier sprang into existence around us. "If I am being honest, it is even more upsetting to hear you insult it. The recipe has been in my family for centuries, and I will not stand by as you besmirch it. This is your fourth Badge, yes?"
"It is." I agreed, feeling the urge to rip and claw starting to flood my body as I palmed the only PokéBall I hoped to need.
"That is good," Erika nodded, satisfied. "The boy who was here before you. He was rude, but despite his words, I could tell he didn't mean them. But you really think it smells bad. That is an insult, and it is one I will repay."
The referee raised a hand and spoke. "This will be a four-on-four battle, for a fourth-level Rainbow Badge! One substitution allowed for either side, the challenger to release their Pokémon first! Gym Leader, are you ready!?"
"I am indeed." One wouldn't think it, given how nonchalantly she was acting.
"Challenger, are you ready!?"
Tch, didn't even flip a coin to see who released first. She was genuinely offended by my insulting her shitty perfume.
Didn't change my answer, though. I'd give her another thing to be upset about when I kicked her ass.
"Ready!"
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Really not my favourite chapter, but it just wouldn't come out.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.