GREEN (Mature)

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Edit: I suppose I should add some sort of an opening blurb. This is a story that a friend of mine asked me to post here. Enjoy. -GREEN

Edit 2: Chapter 15 up.

Prologue-Before

Rudolph smiled as he soundly defeated his rival's last Pokemon, making him the new Pokemon Champion. He basked in the glory of the moment as his rival stuttered out his losing speech, completely unheard. Rudolph saw with some smug satisfaction Professor Oak, as the man sauntered up and congratulated and berated as the man saw fit, then led him into the back room where his Pokemon team was recorded for all time, marking him the League Champion.

He closed his Game Boy with a snap and sighed. He sighed and stared longingly at the ceiling for a moment, running his fingers through his hair in one slow motion, enjoying the feel of his own fingers on his scalp. It had been at least a solid twenty minutes of game play to beat the Elite Four, and he'd restarted once on Lance. A minute or two of rest for his eyes and hands was due, he felt.

With a sigh, he flopped his hand back on his lap an snatched his Game Boy. Without looking at it, his hand flicked the power off, then on again. He raised the thing to eye level even as his head swung back down to level out again. He went through the opening menu, and chose "New Game," saying yes when the game asked if he was OK with erasing his old one.

As he started making his new character, in a methodical way that had been copied dozens of times before, he finally spoke. "**** I wish this game was real."

"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED" replied a deep, unexpected, and in the circumstances bone-chillingly horrible voice. It sounded like the bass in a speaker given varied inflections, enough so to make a voice. It hurt his head to even hear it.

His head whipped around the room, and alighted on the room's other inhabitant. It looked just like one of the shadows on the wall, only with more substance. A shadow that light didn't seem to effect normally. Three sea-green eyes, arranged in a triangle over what he figured was its' face, stared out from the wall. The creature looked as thin as paper, but now it was getting bigger, spreading to the left and right. Then, he realized it wasn't growing steadily bigger, but instead dozens of other shadow things flowed around the room, their flashing triangle pattern of eyes covering the room in what looked now like a band of LED lights.

He got to his feet. The thing had multiplied in a matter of seconds, far quicker than he could have reacted to the thing. His game boy fell from his hands, and one of the shadow creatures that had begun to slide across the room caught it. He watched in horror as it drew the thing into the ground, and it disappeared through the floorboards with the creature carrying it. He barely had time to scream as hands suddenly shot up all around him, and the last thing he saw was black and those triangular eyes, in all shades of green and blue.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 1-Wake Up Time

He woke up slowly, blinking his eyes in the low, soft light of dawn. He groaned and twisted his head right and left, smacking his lips. His tongue felt like a dried out sponge peeling against the roof of his mouth. He buried his face into his pillows, and just left it therefor a moment, enjoying the soft darkness. He took the moment to collect his suddenly confused thoughts. Wasn't he just playing a game? Then...

He suddenly rolled onto his back and shot up into a sitting position, his eyes darting around nervously. The room was completely unfamiliar. A computer sat quietly on a desk against the far wall, and on the ground next to it sat a full pack, with a white hat sitting on top that reminded him of Gilligan's hat from the show. The room was devoid of any figures of any description, however. Slowly he got out of bed and looked around until he found a cup, half filled with water. He drank slowly until it was finished, then noticed his hands for the first time. He froze in sudden realization. He reached up to his head and felt long hair, and his eyes swept the room until he found a mirror.

Green stared back at him. That is to say, the main female character from his LeafGreen game, only in the flesh, stared back at him. Before he made the wish, he remembered calling him... herself Green.

"What in the hell is going on." Her voice had a flat tone to the words that belied any question. She could hear her new voice, much higher pitched and melodic, and it made her shudder a bit. She shut her eyes and groped for the desk chair, grabbing it for support as her breathing quickened.

"WE HAVE SUPPLIED YOU THE CRITERIA OF YOUR WISH" replied that now-familiar tone of voice that made her body break out in goosebumps, her ears throbbing painfully, making her whole head ache.

She opened her eyes and saw the thing on the opposite wall, glowing triangle eyes watching her. There was only one now, and it stood perfectly still, like an obelisk against the backdrop of the universe.

"What do you mean? What are you? Why did you just... grant that wish? And like that? Why THAT wish?! What kind of game are you playing at?!" She asked, her voice coming out less forcefully than she'd intended. She settled for scowling at the thing instead.

"A GAME IS THE GAME WE ARE PLAYING AT" It responded after giving her a moment to cool down. "AS FOR WE YOU NEED NOT CONCERN. YOU POSSESS THE WISH WITH CONVENIENCE. WE HAVE MADE ALTERATIONS IN ORDER TO EVEN ODDS. IF YOUR GOAL IS MET YOU MAY DISCUSS TERMS FURTHER." During its' speech, the thing wavered, like a visualizer on a sound program. The eyes never moved however, unmoving even as the form around it blurred and pulsed. Once it stopped, it snapped back into that uniform stillness, like a black wall painting.

She felt a bit overwhelmed. Alterations? What sort of alterations? What was that even supposed to mean? "You mean I have to become the Pokemon champion if I want to go back to looking like my old self again, right? Now, wait a second! I'm a dude! A guy, a man! I remember my **** very clearly! You can't do this! I just did this because I used the guy last time! Look, just make me the male character at least, I..."

"THE GAME HAS BEGUN." The thing cut in, and for the first time there was a menacing edge to the tone. It made the pain in his ears peak, making her groan. It seemed to realize that it had hurt her, because it went on in a tone that was now, paradoxically, more gentle on the ears than it had been, though it still stung a bit to listen. "GAMES IN MOTION ARE SACRED. THIS ONE WISHES LUCK TO PIECE." It faded into the wall after its' final word so quickly that she didn't even get another word in.

After staring at the wall for another 10 minutes, watching light go slowly up the wall and willing the thing to come back, nothing happened. Green was forced to accept that it wasn't coming back.

Slowly, she turned around and spotted an outfit laid out on the desk. Slowly she dressed herself, taking in her new body with distracted glances. She reached for the skirt, and froze. No, she wouldn't let them tell her what to do. She tossed the skirt in the wastebin, and walked to the closet. Inside, after some looking, she found a pair of dark red pants that she pulled on with some satisfaction. At least she wouldn't be forced to discover the world of exposing most of the lower half of your body just yet. There was also a long-sleeved button-down light green shirt that she threw on over the sleeveless undershirt and left unbuttoned. She felt too exposed, and wouldn't wear skirts unless her arm was twisted.

She grabbed the packed sack and looked at the result in the mirror. The result was... well, certainly more tomboyish than the original. She thought that she almost looked like a skateboarder now, especially with the hat. Pleased, Green left the room and didn't look back.

Walking past another door, this one shut firm, she went down a flight of stairs and into the first floor of the house, a quaint one-room affair, with living room and kitchen all sprawling together. A few doors either led outside or to a bathroom, she figured. Flopping her bag on the table, she opened it to see its' contents. Inside were two changes of clothes, a bedroll, some canned food, and a pouch which held some official looking pieces of plastic and some cash. In another pouch, there were slots for pokeballs, and other Pokemon items. She shut the bag and checked the clock. 7:36 glowed at her from a microwave. She listened hard at the base of the stairs, for telltale signs of someone moving in the house. While she wasn't positive, she would've bet nearly anything that she had a mother upstairs who was going to awaken soon.

A note on the refrigerator door caught her eye. In a small but neat handwriting, the note proclaimed "Honey, remember you need to be at Professor Oak's lab at 8:00 sharp. I made you a boxed lunch, it's in the fridge. -Mom." She looked at the note for a while, then opened the fridge and took out the lunch, tearing it open and eating it even as her stomach snarled in hunger. As she ate one of the rice balls packed in the lunch with gusto, she filled a cup with milk, which she used to wash down the meal.

Finally with a full stomach, Green/Rudolph sat down at the table to stop and think about the situation. It was clear that as much as this world seemed real, it was a game to someone else, and she was willing to bet that someone had money on her winning or losing. What did that mean to her then? That it would be pointless to try and complain, for one. If someone had money on her to win, someone else had money on her to lose. Stood to reason. No man who had money on a bet would stand for someone else who had money on the same bet to mess with the conditions. That left her with the Elite Four to beat, which didn't frighten her by themselves. What gave her pause was the line the creature had said about alterations. What alterations had been made? Stuff to make the journey harder?

Suddenly she wanted a drink. Something to calm her nerves, which suddenly felt tense as wires. She searched the cabinets around the room, and finally came up with an unopened bottle of wine, and a half-full bottle of some kind of brown cooking alcohol. Slowly she poured herself half a glass, and grimaced as she downed it in one go. She felt it burning a trail to the pit of her stomach, where it settled on top of the food like hot lead. She sighed and placed both bottles in her bag, where she wrapped them in clothes. She'd be damned if she was gonna do this sober.

Finally, as the clock hit 7:45, she decided it was time to leave. Standing up a bit unsteadily, she grabbed the bag and headed for the door.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 2-Time to Choose

Green walked up to Professor Oak's lab, stopping at a bench in front to plop down for a moment. Her head was spinning a bit, making her feel terrible. Drinking so much alcohol with the body of an 11-year-old was certainly a terrible idea in hindsight. With a sigh, she stood up and started for the doors again.

The doors opened at a touch, letting Green into the large and impressive lab. From every wall, computers and other large devices blinked and glowed. The aides found in the game were nowhere to be seen, and neither was anyone else for that matter. Green's eyes fell on a glass case sitting in the middle of the room, under which three pokeballs shined under a mirror-fine polish.

Green licked her lips and walked cautiously up to the case. Three labels gleamed in front of the pokeballs. Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander were clearly shown in black letters against bronze plates. She felt her hand raising up to lift the case...

"Hey loser, wait until grandpa gets here!" Came a barking voice from the door, making Green jump in surprise. She whirled around to see what was clearly Blue, or more accurately the rival from the games. He was grinning as he looked around the lab, running a hand through his spiked hair. "Where is gramps anyhow?" Blue looked Green up and down, apparently surprised by the choice of clothes. "Woah, what's with the change of clothes? Trying to man up?" He grinned at his own joke, and walked to stand on the other side of the case.

"I will bring you down for that." Green promised, her voice coming out in a whisper.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" bellowed a cheerful and slightly elderly voice from the back doors, which were made of sliding glass. Professor Oak stepped into the lab, a sheepish grin on his face. "I had a problem with an Arcanine. She's going to give birth to pups soon and she doesn't want to eat all the time." He spread out his hands and smiled. "But welcome! I see we're almost ready to begin! To think that a new generation is leaving for their pokemon journey." He smiled wistfully and walked to his computer, where he began typing. "I'll be just a moment while we wait for Red."

"Red?" Green asked in a slight daze. This was completely unexpected news.

"Do we have to wait for that loser too?" Blue snorted, looking at the ceiling.

The doors burst open, and the male main character from the game ran in, eyes bright and keen. "I'm not too late, am I professor?! I woke up late but I ran here nonstop!" He exclaimed, bouncing on the heels. The sheer excitement and mad eagerness made Green want to screw the top of her own head off.

"Just in time!" Oak said with a smile. He got up and walked to the group, handing each in turn a red pokedex. "These are my patented pokedexes! They contain information about all the kinds of pokemon you'll run across, and capturing a pokemon will fill out more information on it in general. It's an invaluable tool for the individual aspiring to be a pokemon master!"

"Great! Thanks Professor Oak! I'm gonna fill it out and be a Pokemon MASTER!" Yelled Red, opening his pokedex and flipping through it with apparent insane glee.

Blue grabbed his pokedex, and opened it quietly as the thing chirped to life, and began explaining its' functions. Green, wanting to get the formalities over with, spoke up as she tucked the thing into her pocket. "So, I guess all we have left to do is choose, huh?"

The two boys looked immediately up. This was obviously the moment they had been waiting for too, and for the moment their pokedexes were stowed away.

Professor Oak smiled at Green. "Of course, I can see you're ready and raring to go! Well, then I shall explain the three choices. First is..."

Green's attention slid away as the Professor droned on about the three starters. She found it hard to concentrate long on anything at the moment, but she suspected that it had to do with the alcohol more than anything. Her tongue felt dry, and she suspected her eyes were red, but at least she was steady on her feet. With her luck she'd just collapse soon with the effort of staying up.

The Professor stopped, and Green nearly jumped as Blue spoke up suddenly. "What! That's completely unfair! I'm your grandson!"

Green blinked, and looked around suddenly, realizing she must have missed a key conversation point.

"It's common etiquette, Blue." The Professor said calmly, but with a warning tone in his voice that made Blue scowl and close his mouth.

"What's that?" Green asked, blinking at the Professor.

"Go on, the choice is your first, Green my dear." replied the Professor, smiling kindly again.

Green took a step up to the case, and suddenly felt anxious. This couldn't be a decision made lightly. Instinctively, she leaned to Bulbasaur, but made no move to grab its' pokeball even as the Professor lifted the glass case off. Bulbasaur was grass, and while grass was good against the first few gyms, she felt the type was inferior to water.

That brought her to Squirtle. Green actually began to reach for its' pokeball, but hesitated and pulled her hand back. A thought had just occurred to her. She turned to Charmander this time. Charmander had a huge disadvantage against the first two gyms, but after that it was good against pretty much all the rest, except the last Gym. Plus, if you're gonna own a pocket monster, why not make it a flying dragon.

"I'll take Charmander." Green said confidently, and grabbed it. She stepped back, admiring the smooth feel of the ball under her fingers.

"Me next!" Red cried as he bounded forward. Blue started to cry out in protest, but Red snatched up Bulbasaur before he could say anything coherent, leaving Blue to grab Squirtle as he scowled.

"Excellent!" said Professor Oak as he replaced the glass case. "Then if the three of you are ready to begin, I suppose I shouldn't keep you around here any longer. You're entering a fascinating world of adventure, kids." He turned to smile at them and Green, who remembered playing the games and never being moved by anything at all, felt a real pang of sadness in the man's expression. She could imagine Oak thinking of his own days of Pokemon adventuring.

There was a noise like a snap followed by a rushing noise. Red had let out his Bulbasaur. "Hey Bulbasaur! I'm Red! We're gonna be best buddies!"

Blue looked to Green, and grinned. "Listen. You may have suddenly toughened up or something, but I know you're still a wimp beneath those new clothes. I'll battle you later. I'm gonna save our battle for next time." And with that, Blue turned and pointed at Red. "Hey! I challenge you to a battle! It's what we've been talking about since we were kids, right?"

Red was scratching his Bulbasaur behind the ears, smiling, but looked up quick enough when a battle was mentioned. "Sure! Let's do this, Bulbasaur!" The two marched out the front door, leaving the lab in a blur of determination. Bulbasaur had to run to keep up.

Professor Oak laughed and looked to Green. "Well, I see you've gone for a change of clothes. You've been awfully quiet today, Green. You feeling alright?"

Green hadn't stopped glaring after Blue since he spoke. Only now did she look away, and towards Oak. The alcohol was still working on her body and mind, and she decided that eating and drinking before coming here wasn't a great idea. She didn't feel like vomiting, but she did feel like sitting down for a few minutes. "Fine, Professor. I'm gonna head out too. Good seeing you!"

"Oh, hold on. I meant to ask my grandson do something. Would you do me a favor, Green?" Oak said suddenly, thumping his forehead with his hand. "It's to the gym leader in Viridian City. Just a parcel from the Pokemon League that was accidentally sent here." He went up to his office with a distracted look on his face. "I've been so busy lately, my word."

Green nodded slowly and smiled distractedly as she thought to herself, dammit there's got to be a way can turn this down without being a dick. I've gotta beat the Elite Four if I wanna, not to put too fine a point on it, get my penis back after all.

She took the pokedex out of her pocket and flipped it open with a distracted flick. It powered on without prompting, and went immediately to the entry for Charmander. How the hell it knew she had grabbed its' pokeball, she'd never know. With a flick of the hand, merely out of boredom, she went to the last entry which she expected to be a blank 150. Instead, she was surprised to see a blank 493. That brought a whole new slew of problems to mind at once, and she was suddenly glad to see Professor Oak again.

"Here we are! I believe it's probably something about the gym being closed for some time. People have been complaining after all." Oak said as he handed a thread-bound parcel to Green, who took it while putting the pokedex away with the other hand.

"Um, Professor? There's only 150 pokemon around here, right?" Green asked bluntly, needing a straight answer on this.

Professor Oak smiled in a confused way. "Of course not. Not all 493 Pokemon are around here in Kanto. Not at all. But there are far more than 150 in this region. Especially with the recent trainers from Hoenn, Johto, Sinnoh, and the Sevii Islands coming in now that the Elite Four have reopened their doors."

Green nodded slowly as her brain moved quickly. Rudolph thought, alright, it's obvious that someone wanted me to hear that exposition. So, those shadow ****s want the ability to sucker punch me with any random damn pokemon in the entire series. Fine. I don't know everything about them all, but I know enough to make a good run for it. What she said was, "Oh. I'll drop it off for you. Thank you Professor."

"Well, here's a few pokeballs for helping me out. I'm much obliged!" Oak said with a smile as he held out two handfuls of the things, which he dropped into Green's open pouch.

"Sure. Well, take care Professor. I guess I'll see you after Blaine's gym." Green said with some weariness to her voice, then trudged out.

Oak furrowed his brow. "Well, she's certainly different."

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 3-Starting the Journey

Green walked out of the lab, parcel still in hand. She stuffed it absentmindedly into her bag, reminding herself to open it when she was out of town. The gym leader of Viridian City was Giovanni, after all. The package couldn't contain anything good. She wondered vaguely if it was cheating to remember all the plot details, but then remembered she didn't care at all.

Rounding the path leading away from the lab, Green came upon an open clearing between the lab and the town proper. Bulbasaur and Squirtle were still fighting, though both looked the worse for wear. Even as he watched, however, Bulbasaur steadied himself on all fours, and sprang forward to hit Squirtle in the gut. Squirtle keeled over, causing Red to jump up and down in pure joy. "We did it, Bulbasaur!"

Blue was red in the face as he returned his Squirtle. He glared at Red, then turned the gaze on Green and smirked. His eyes remained hard though his disarming smile, however. "Well, thanks to you I didn't get the Pokemon I wanted. But don't you worry. I'm gonna become the pokemon champion, and leave you two in the dust. Smell the both of you later!" and with a flick of the hand, he was off, and didn't look back as he continued down the road through town.

Red looked to Green, smiling as he patted his weak Bulbasaur on the head. "Hey Green, how..."

"Look... no offense, but let's just stop this conversation here." Green cut in wearily. She wasn't in the mood.

"I was just gonna ask if you wanted to battle..." Red responded meekly, seeming surprised by the response.

"Um, sure. Look I need to get on the road so let's get this done quick" Green responded sharply, still feeling disoriented. Another drink after this would cure that. She pressed the button on the pokeball, releasing a flash of red light that quickly coalesced into a Charmander, only about two feet tall. It spread its' arms wide with a large grin on its' read reptilian face. "Charmander!" It said happily, looking up at Green.

Green felt the edge of her mouth twinge with the start of a smile. As much as this day had been weird, that made up for a lot of it right there.

Red took out a potion, and gave it to Bulbasaur as he stood up. "Alright, are you ready then?" He narrowed his eyes. "Are you ready for you first fight, Green? I won't take it easy on..."

"Charmander, use scratch." Green said, almost bored.

Charmander flashed its' claws, and swiped at Bulbasaur, who looked taken off guard.

Red looked shocked, but recovered. "Bulbasaur, use growl!" He yelled, and Bulbasaur shouted in Charmander's face, driving him back one worried step.

"Charmander, use scratch." Green said again, pulling out her Pokedex. Charmander scratched again, driving the plant Pokemon back again.

"Tackle, Bulbasaur!" Red shouted, and his normally unstoppably friendly face turned into a frown as he noticed Green not paying any attention. Bulbasaur charged, and hit Charmander, who yelped.

"Charmander, use scratch." Green said again, as she noticed that the pokedex here had a built in map. Neat.

"Bulbasaur, watch out for Charmander's..."

"Charmander, use scratch."

Bulbasaur fell back onto its' back bulb, and groaned wearily as Charmander swiped at the thing again with its' claws. Red scowled and returned the pokemon. "You can't just keep doing the same thing!" he yelled, his face turning red.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize the point was to lose." Green responded, patting a happy Charmander on the head.

Red looked more upset. "We learned that variety in battle is the way to not be unpredictable and..."

"Look. I'm glad. Very good. Well, I'll see you later. I got a... fire." Green slowly backed up down the path away from Red. She could care less about Red. It was Blue she was more worried about, even though he had lost his first battle. He had the Pokemon strong to Charmander, after all. It seemed logical that he'd be the real threat.

For a moment, Green considered stopping back by the house she came from, but seeing as she didn't wanna meet her new mom and she wasn't sure where the house even was, she contented herself with taking the bottle out of her pouch, which she drank from heavily.

"Charmander?" asked Charmander as it walked alongside her, looking up at the bottle.

Green lowered the bottle and looked down. "It's not for Pokemon, that's for sure." She said warningly, then smiled. "Just something to take the edge off... I learned a lot in one day after all."

Charmander seemed to accept the news. "Charmander."

Green stopped and sat down, looking Charmander in the eyes. "Look little man. I'm gonna rap with you for a sec." Charmander looked back, apparently keen to learn. "Me and you are going to beat the Pokemon League. We're gonna get other friends to help us out, but it's pretty much me and you. I'm counting on you. Cool?"

Green wasn't sure how smart pokemon were supposed to be, but it seemed to understand it was being asked something big. "Charmander!" It said, eyes bright.

"Good, let's rock. And I may be going crazy, speaking to animals. But I don't know if you count as animal." Green said as they continued down the path that lead out of town, and past a sign that pointed directly away from town that read, "Viridian City and Indigo Plateau."

The grass, a calm few inches in town, was starting to get taller, and for the first time she could understand how pokemon could hide anywhere in the real world. Though there was a path that ensured Green couldn't get lost on the way to Viridian, but she couldn't see well even around the next bend here. It was much different than the games and the convenient overhead view.

A rustle from the bushes brought a sudden stillness to the clearing. The first wild battle. Green's pulse quickened as she whirled around. A Rattatta came out of the woods, looking around curiously as its' nose twitched.

"Oh, **** Rattatta! Charmander, scratch!" Green said, upset that the first pokemon had been such a letdown.

Charmander leapt at its name, claws shooting out to hit the thing with two long scratches. The Rattatta put up a brief fight, but was knocked out by Charmander fairly quickly. Green nodded in satisfaction.

The next hour was similarly depressing for Green. Every time there was a rustle in the brush, there would be a moment of glee, quickly snuffed by another Rattatta. On the bright side, Charmander was dealing with them more efficiently, though it was looking tired. Already Green could see the top of a large building in what must be Viridian. She must not be that far away now.

Green sat down and pulled out a can of peaches, popping the top with a satisfied sigh. "Well, we'll get some lunch and them go out looking for some more pokemon. Hopefully no more rats, eh?"

Charmander plopped itself down and looked imploringly up at Green, who frowned. "Hmm. You must be hungry. Is there such thing as pokemon food?" She asked as she put the can of peaches down and dug through the bag's food pouch. Sure enough, there was one large can with a bunch of brown balls. Though they looked completely unappetizing to Green, Charmander seemed to like the idea and dug right into one with apparent gusto.

Green smiled and reached down for her peaches. They were missing. She blinked and looked around, confused. The can was nowhere to be seen. Green narrowed her eyes, and opened a second can of peaches, which she sat slowly down to her left. She picked up another brown ball and tossed it to Charmander, who caught it neatly out of the air and began eating. Just as the ball had left her hands, something had darted from the brush behind her and snagged the other can. It was something dark green, with a flash of yellow.

Green searched through her bag, and took out a can of what turned out to be oranges this time. She popped it open and quickly downed half the oranges, then reached back into her bag and filled the rest of the can with alcohol. With a finger, she stirred the stuff together so the alcohol didn't float awkwardly at the top, then set the can down again. She reached into the can of brown balls and tossed one more to Charmander, noticing again the vanishing can. She smiled.

Green opened one last can, this one of canned straw berries, and repeated the alcohol trick. She waited a few minutes for the first can to take effect, sipping vaguely at the can in her hand. Green placed this one down a little closer to her main field of vision and waited, not even bothering to feed Charmander. After a few hesitant moments, the thing made a dash for the can. this time, however, it wasn't nearly as swift. It stumbled on the way back, nearly tripping over its' two feet as it gripped the can with two front arms. Green stood up and stretched. "Charmander? I think we're about to catch our first pokemon."

Charmander followed Green as she strolled into the woods. There was a sound like something eating something sloppily but happily, and after coming across a few empty cans, Green walked around a tree to find a Munchlax, face buried in the can of strawberries. It seemed like it had far more trouble with this one than the last one, as red splatters went all down its' front. It smelled of alcohol even from here. It stood up, apparently intent to bolt, but it collapsed instead, letting out a low "Muuuunch...." as it fell face down.

Green looked to Charmander, then to it, feeling like she had somehow cheated. "Um, Charmander, just make sure it's down."

Charmander walked slowly up to the thing, and poked it with a toe a few times. It looked up to Green. "Char?"

The Munchlax reached up and grabbed Charmander's tail, just above the flame, and swung the whole pokemon around with a sudden and unexpected strength that drove the lizard into a tree. It got up, swaying slowly back and forth as it measured Charmander up with bloodshot eyes.

Charmander got to its' feet, eyes blazing with fury. "Char..." It snarled, spreading its' arms wide in a battle stance.

"Use scratch on it, Charmander!" Green yelled, realizing that this battle may just be starting. Charmander ran forward with claws flashing, but when it swiped Munchlax lurched drunkenly out of the way, making Charmander whiff with a large haymaker that set it off balance. The Munchlax shot out an arm, smacking Charmander and sending it rolling. In that movement, Green saw how this thing must have taken the food. It was slow, but in that burst of action it had moved quicker than its' bulk seemed to indicate. This thing must be used to running away from trainers (though the alcohol had given it beer muscles.) Charmander struggled to its' feet even as Munchlax began to laugh, apparently immensely pleased by the new sparring buddy.

"Charmander, use..." Green began, then noticed the look in the little guy's eyes. They flashed red for a moment, and Charmander opened his mouth to the laughing Munchlax. A spray of fire roared out, covering the thing completely. Whether spurred on by the alcohol fumes or by the anger of the charmander, Green didn't know, but she suspected it wasn't a normal ember attack.

Munchlax stumbled and fell back again, moaning to itself. Green's pokeball caught it as it hit the ground, and as the red light on the pokeball dimmed, it struggled no more.

Green walked over and picked up the pokeball, smiling as she put it into her bag. Well, this was amazing news! It looked like there were indeed alterations to the world, and not all of them disadvantageous. "Hey, buddy, looks like we did it!"

Green turned to Charmander, who was groaning. Now that the battle was over, the bruises were really taking their toll on Charmander. He took a step towards Green, trying to look tough, but she could already see how it limped from where it had been smacked against the tree. Green smiled and walked up to it, patting it on the head and scratching it behind the ears. "Good job there. I'm gonna return you for now. Thanks buddy."

Charmander looked pleased and a bit relieved as the red light engulfed it, leaving Green alone again. She turned to Viridian City again, and was walking down the road in silence when she suddenly realized that she hadn't ever opened new the package meant for Giovanni. Settling down against a tree, Green took out the bottle of cooking alcohol, and the parcel. Taking a swig, Green put the bottle aside and opened the package with one hand, the strings falling away to reveal cloth wrapping that fell away with only a little bit of fiddling. Inside was a slim brown paper envelope, an object so normal it made Green frown. Twisting the metal tabs on the envelope with a flick of the wrist, Green poured out its' contents. Five wads of crisp bills flopped onto the ground. Green took one hesitantly. She couldn't be sure, still not knowing what the money was really like here, but he was sure enough to know that it was an illegal amount of money. She slid one of the bills from one of the wads almost absentmindedly, and replaced all the wads even as she stuffed the single bill in her pocket.

"Well. That's interesting." Green murmured as she slowly and mechanically put the parcel back the way she found it.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 4-Viridian City is Boring

Green walked through the doors of the Viridian City pokemon center, the pink light of dusk giving way to the bright lights of the building that seemed part hotel lobby, part hospital. Large circular cushioned couches dotted the floor, and three young people were lounging on them, two sleeping and the third flipping through a pokedex. She walked up to the counter, where a smiling pink-haired Nurse Joy was smiling at her.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center! May I take your Pokemon please?" Joy asked, offering a tray with six indents to Green.

Green placed her two balls in the tray, and Nurse Joy nodded. "It'll be just a few minutes. Please feel free to take a seat. I'll be sure to get you."

Green wandered over to a seat and plopped down, sighing at the feel of something soft for a few minutes. She simply sat there, listening to the sounds of the Pokemon Center as she rested her eyes.

There was a groan as someone sat down next to her. Green opened her eyes and looked up expectantly, but rather than Nurse Joy there was the other girl who had been viewing her pokedex with intent. She was smiling nervously, and looked like one of those people who would keep talking well after one because uninterested in the subject. She had green hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark brown skin and thin silver glasses. "Hello there. My name is Marta! I've never seen you here before. Are you a Pokemon trainer?"

Green sighed. "Yeah. I just started this morning." Everyone in this world was so bubbly. It was gonna give her a cavity sometime soon. She hoped that with a curt response, she's forestall any more questioning.

"I thought so! I'm here from the Cinnabar Islands on my way to Pewter City. I just started being a trainer not long ago myself. Isn't it exciting out there? I was hoping to stop and get the badge here, but it looks like the leader's been gone for a while." Marta said, seemingly spurred on more by the reply than by the tone of voice.

"Yeah." replied Green, wondering if faking like she had to take a **** would slow this girl down, or if she'd just follow along and talk from the next stall. Marta was about to speak again, so Green cut in swiftly with a question to change the subject. "So! What was your starter, anyhow?" Green grinned after she said it, in a way she meant to look interested, but it came out looking strained and forced.

"Chikorita." She replied promptly and proudly. "Professor Elm had some extra that they bred."

Green nodded, and only half listened as Marta started talking excitedly about the day she had gotten to choose her starter. Nurse Joy came in the middle of the story, creating only a minor pause as Green got her pokemon back.

"So then I was sent up here to Viridian City. I'm just glad I got here before dark!" Marta continued in her bubbly tone of voice. "What kind of pokemon do you have?"

"A Munchlax and a Charmander so far." Green replied, opening Charmander's pokeball even as she spoke. Charmander looked pleased to see Green, and she scratched him on the top of his head even as curled on the couch, his flaming tail swishing absentmindedly in the air. She had been looking over Marta's features carefully, and judged the age as at least older than her body. "So, listen. Do you know where to get a corkscrew?"

Marta blinked, her face surprised. "What's that? What for?"

"Sparking grape juice." Green shot back, face blank.

"Um, I suppose I could get one. Just a minute." Marta got up and walked over towards the desk, leaving Green behind with Charmander.

"Ok, this is not gonna work. I need to find a fake id or something..." Green muttered as Marta strolled back up, and handed her a corkscrew with a smile.

"There was actually one on the concessions table!" Marta said, smiling.

Green looked at her blankly, then over her shoulder at the table laden with two large jugs, one clearly for coffee, as well as snacks and a selection of plates, cups and silverware. It was like a continental breakfast table from a Holiday Inn. "Wow. Things are... really easy in this world, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Marta asked, brows creasing.

Green screwed in the corkscrew and pulled at the bottle with all her might, releasing the cork with a pop. "Nothing. So, you want a drink?"

Munchlax's pokeball suddenly popped open, and the little pokemon was suddenly standing next to Charmander. It didn't still reek of alcohol, but there was a certain sharp smell to the air around it. It grinned and held out both its' arms.

"What does he want?" asked Marta, who was completely bewildered.

"Um... he loves sparking cider." Green said, pushing the small but surprisingly heavy thing away from her bottle of wine. She finally fumbled into her bag and produced an empty can, into which she quickly poured a fair cup of wine. Munchlax took it gratefully and sat down on the couch, sipping the cup with every sign of enjoyment. Green began to wonder if she had maybe created a monster.

Marta giggled at Munchlax. "Well, if he recommends it so much, of course I'll take some!" she got up, and fetched a pair of glasses from the table.

Green frowned at Marta's back. "Of course this never ****ing happens when I'm a guy. Some dumb **** practically tossing her panties at me." Green took a sip from the bottle, and considered. "Alright, she thinks I'm 11 and a girl and doesn't think this is alcohol.... but still."

Marta came back, smiling and passing over two ceramic mugs. Green poured a fair measure into each cup, and the two drank deeply, not a word passing between them. Marta's eyes looked intrigued as she lowered her cup.

"I think this may be bad. It's supposed to be sparkling, right?"

"Tastes fine to me." Green said, not wanting to start that topic.

After the first glass, Marta let her Chikorita out, who played with Charmander as Munchlax apparently took a power nap. After the second, Marta got back into the swing of small talk. She began talking about herself a whole lot, during which time Green sat quietly and pretended to listen as she mentally built team after team of pokemon in her mind.

After the third glass, and near the bottom of the bottle however, Marta finally said something that caught Green's attention.

"Scho. So, I'm not JUST here to get my badge in Pewter Schity you know." Marta slurred suddenly, giving Green a conspiratorial wink. "I'm shupossed to do something here too." She smiled and winked again, or tried to, but used both eyes.

"Really?" Green responded, feigning some interest because it sounded like it could be relevant.

"Gotta go catch an eshcaped pokemon. He's caushing trouble here." Marta said, nodding.

"Why... why not tell me about it? Maybe I can help." Green said as steadily as she could manage.

"Professor Elm had shomeone bring our pokemon as eggsh." Marta said, grinning. "But one hatched here in Viridian Schityand got out. It'sh living in the lake now."

Green's eyes darted outside. There was only the barest hint of light outside now. She began to wonder if it was worth going outside now and trying to find the lake even now.

"So. I think I'm gonna go to the store real quick..." Green began, eyes already darting to the exit, when she was grabbed suddenly by Marta and pulled into an unexpected embrace.

"No, no! Don't go just yet!" Marta said in an oddly childish tone of voice. Green guessed she was easily 16 or so compared to her 11, but it was obvious that right now she was bizarrely the dominant one here. Marta was like a giant drunk child holding her mother.

Green wanted to pull away for a moment, until Marta shifted position, and Green's head ended up buried in Marta's cleavage. She hesitated for a moment, and then realized she wasn't possibly gonna get hit, and buried her face lovingly into Marta's beasts. Green hadn't really paid attention to the girl's bustline, but it wasn't bad at all. B cup, maybe C. Marta began to snore softly, and Green pulled away from her just enough to look down her shirt. From here, Green could make them out in detail. She sighed and got back into position, nuzzling her head deeply back in place.

Before she could really consider it further, she found herself drifting off to sleep. All in all, it wasn't a terrible end to a first day.

The beginning of the second day could have been better. Green sat up slowly, smacking her lips as the light that had awoken her up streamed in through the windows surrounding the room. A blanket was covering her and Marta, who was still passed out underneath her, mouth slightly ajar. The bottle of wine was gone, as were the cups they had left behind. Munchlax, Charmander and Chikorita were all sleeping nearby. Everything was actually fine, except the headache. It was pounding. Green simply pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes and pressed until all she saw was the swirling colors behind her eyes. She stayed this way for a few minutes until the headache went away, then got up and walked to the concessions table slowly. There she got a couple glasses of water, and a likely looking fruit, and made her way back to her seat. There, she slowly drank one of the glasses of water as she pulled the fruit open, found it to be an orange, and ate it slowly.

Finally, her headache slowed, and the light wasn't so harsh anymore. "Water when you drink, gotta remember."

Green looked to the sleeping Marta, who had curled up on the couch. She looked pretty dead to the world. Green supposed she could wake Marta up, but maybe better to just deal with this now, come back and wake her up.

Green returned Munchlax to its' pokeball, and nudged Charmander, who uncurled and yawned. "Let's go. I got an idea." As they headed out of the Pokemon Center, Green grabbed a sandwich from a fresh basket and shoved it in her pocket.

Taking a right from the front door on a hunch, Green walked for a bit, passing a few houses before coming to the west end of Viridian City. A pond shone there in the morning light, water lapping gently against the shore. Green stepped up to the edge of the lake, look the sandwich from her pocket, and began slowly tearing chunks off and tossing them in the water.

Soon there were multiple chunks floating there, bobbing on the surface while slowly absorbing water.

"Be ready, buddy." Green said to Charmander under her breath.

Suddenly, something snapped one of the chunks up, and another. Something was snapping them all up from under the surface like Jaws, but Green was ready. "Charmander, ember on the water!"

Charmander let out a small but steady stream of fire. Directed right at the water like this, steam was already rising and water bubbling. Whatever it was didn't like it, and it suddenly shot above water, furious.

Charmander hadn't been expecting it, so the charging Totodile hit it straight on, thrashing with arms and legs, scratching Charmander in a rage. Charmander blew another stream of fire at Totodile that hit straight on, but it didn't seem to affect Totodile much, only make it angrier. It rushed forward and suddenly clamped its' powerful jaws down on Charmander's tail. Charmander screeched in pain, and ran in a panicked circle, scratching madly at his foe's head while the Totodile held on tight.
"Charmander, return!" Green yelled, snagging Charmander with the red beam. The Totodile seemed confused at the sudden loss of his target, but quickly shifted focus to Green, who threw her other ball. "Munchlax!"

Munchlax came out with a yawn, and a squint into the sudden intrusion of light. His leisure was short lived, because Totodile hit him with a spray of water that knocked him over backwards.

"Munchlax, tackle!" Green yelled, getting eager now. Munchlax ran forward, but missed completely before turning around again. It really squinted into the light now, and it looked upset. Totodile scratched at Munchlax with its' claws, forcing it back a nervous step. "Munchlax! Tackle it and I'll get you a damn drink!"

Munchlax perked up, and when Totodile rushed in this time, Munchlax met it coming the other way. Totodile went careening back, and Green heaved a pokeball. It shook for a few moments, and finally stopped with a ping.

Green picked up Totodile's pokeball with a satisfied grin. Munchlax was already smiling up at Green, expecting his promised gift. "I'll give you something to drink when I get some more. Be patient." She returned the now scowling Munchlax, and clicked all three balls into place as she headed for the Pokemon Center.

"THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING ABOVE AVERAGE FOR YOU" said a voice that was completely unexpected in the circumstances. The deep bass of that horribly familiar speech those shadow people used hurt the ears and deep into the brain.


Things went from colorful all around to grey. This had never happened before. One shadow man was there now, but his triangular eyes were of a deep, icy blue, so dark they seemed to fade into his body.

"Who... are you?" Green asked slowly, uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"I HAVE A STAKE IN THE GAME" The figure responded evenly. "YOU MUST KNOW THAT ODDS ARE IN YOUR FAVOR. FOR THE MOMENT."

"Really? That's good to..." Green hesitated and rethought the word choice. "Why only for the moment?"

"IT HAS BEEN DECIDED THAT ADDITIONAL OBSTACLES MUST BE ERECTED AND OTHERS CHANGED. YOU HAVE TOO MUCH KNOWLEDGE." The shadow man said in a voice like vibrating lead.

"Wha...what do you mean?" Green asked, but now she was backing away. The air behind her, though there was clearly nothing there, had turned solid. She cowered against the far wall as the shadow man exploded into wisps of shadow. Each tore into Green, going through skin and deep into nerves, and suddenly Green felt the horrible sensation of having memories dry up, get siphoned out like gas from a car. Suddenly, she felt the knowledge of the pokemon game mostly leave her. That is, she remembered all of the pokemon still, and was aware that it was a game, but suddenly the story, as simple as it was, had been scoured from her mind.

"THE FIELD HAS BEEN LEVELED. THE GAME MAY COMMENCE." the thing said, and suddenly the slivers of shadow pulled out, giving Green the sensation that something was unplugging from her central nervous system. And suddenly, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, leaving Green gasping on the ground.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Act 2

Chapter 5-Disappointment

Green woke up in a bed, and was so bewildered to find herself as such that she screamed until Nurse Joy came barreling into the room.

"What's the matter? Are you hurt?" Joy asked hurriedly, checking her forehead with a worried expression.

Green finally got some control, and her breathing slowed. "Fine. I'm fine.... how did I end up here?"

Nurse Joy smiled and opened the window in the room. "Your green-haired friend went out to the pond and found you lying on the ground. She brought you here right after."

Green smiled absentmindedly as she reached for her pokeballs. Her belt, which had three pokeballs, had two. Green's smile vanished, and when she looked up to yell at Joy, she was gone already. Green didn't have to let her anger seethe long, because Marta came in, smiling brightly.

"Green! Thank you so much! Professor Elm was so happy!" she said bubbly, plopping in the chair next to the bed.

"What do you mean?" Green shot back, still looking in her clothes for the third pokeball.

"I saw that you captured Totodile, so I sent it back to Professor Elm! Thank you so much for helping me out. I must've overslept this morning." Marta said casually, in a way that made Green's teeth grind.

"So you took the Pokemon I captured and gave it away while I was passed out." Green said, her voice coming out even and hollow.

Marta seemed to notice the edge in Green's voice, and looked apprehensive. "That was what you were going to do, right?" she asked, and Green once again had that bizarre knowledge that though this girl was older, Green was the leader here.

"Sure. Well, thanks for bringing me here anyhow." Green struggled out of the covers, and pulled on her overshirt that was thrown over a nearby chair. She felt like yelling at Marta, but also felt that Marta was the kind of girl who would burst into tears if yelled at. Best to brush her off now. "It was nice meeting you and stuff, but I'm sure we both..."

"Well, I have good news for you!" Marta said, smiling even brighter. "Since you caught Totodile, I'm free to continue on to Pewter City with you! Isn't that great!" She motioned to her pack, which was sitting in the corner looking ready for a trip.

Green's eyes narrowed. This was just annoying now. True this girl did have a nice rack, but she was as dumb as a bag of hammers. Plus, she had cost Green a pokemon already, which annoyed her. For a few minutes Green had thought that nearly half her pokemon team was done, but it turns out things may not be that easy. Green opened her mouth to tell Marta she couldn't come, but instead got another idea.

"Marta? Here, take this." Green handed her the crisp bill pulled from the parcel. "Would you mind doing me a little favor since I caught that Totodile?" she asked sweetly.

"Of course!" Marta said, looking as keen as a newborn puppy. "Whatever you want!"

"Good. Then see how much alcohol you can buy with that. Vodka or rum for preference." Green said, speaking briskly to hopefully overcome the inevitable questions.

Marta looked at the bill and back at Green again. "Um, alcohol?"

"Yes."

Marta hesitated for a few minutes, opening her mouth as if to speak, and then closing it a few different times before she finally smiled again. "Well, I do owe you I suppose. I'll be back in a little while." and with that, she walked out, leaving Green alone again.

Green sat back with a groan. Dammit, it looked like she was stuck with this girl until Pewter City at least. Thinking of Pewter City got her thinking of Viridian City, and Viridian City got her thinking of the parcel. She took it out, and frowned at it. There had been something about this package... something about who it was going to, but it seemed to slip Green's mind entirely now. All she could think was that she'd have to drop off the package before hitting Viridian Forest. With a shrug, she stowed the parcel back in her bag. It would come to her if it was important.

After a half hour, during which Green mostly enjoyed the bed and scratched Charmander on the head, Marta came back, carrying a box in both hands. She looked exhausted. Green sat up, looking curious.

"All they had was vodka, so I bought all they had. Here's your change." Marta said, pouring some coins in Green's open hand.

Green pulled the lid off the box. There were about twenty bottles in the box, and none looked small. "Wow! Thanks Marta! How old are you anyhow?"

"Eighteen. How come?" She asked, looking pleased to see Green happy.

"You don't look it. Want a drink?" Green asked pleasantly, cracking open one of the bottles.

Munchlax's pokeball opened nearly on command, and Green passed over another empty can she'd filled with clear alcohol. Munchlax took it happily, and began sipping at the can with gusto. Green poured a second drink for herself, and took one large swig, making a face as it went down.

"No thank you. I don't drink." Marta said, blushing.

Green snorted in humor, and continued on her glass.

After a drink, Green felt a lot more like getting on the road. She got up and stretched, but looked curiously at the box of alcohol. It'd be too hard to carry all of those bottles on the road. Green walked to the corner of the room, which had a PC sitting on a desk. She turned on the screen, and after a moment it lit up, showing her the words, "Hello Green, which PC would you like to connect with?"

Green skipped "Someone's PC" and went to "Green's PC." She wasn't sure how the computer knew it was her, but she decided to not ask questions. Sure enough, it gave the option to store items. She chose the option, and a box next to the PC, which Green had suspected was an extra hard drive, popped open. "Please place your item in the box." the screen prompted. She slid a bottle into the box, and with a flash it disappeared. The computer pinged, and a small picture of the bottle appeared in her box. Green smiled, and pulled out all the bottles save two. Once put away, Green got up, cracking her back with a pleased sigh.

Marta, who had been sitting quietly at the bed's edge, smiled. "Are you ready to go then?"

"Sure, why not. I've gotta stop off at the gym before we exit town though. I gotta drop off a package."

Green and Marta left the Pokemon center, but not before Nurse Joy double checked her temperature both with her hand and a thermometer. The two were out and approaching the gym before long, however. Green noticed dismally that it was already past noon. She wasn't making nearly the progress she thought she would.

The gym was huge, ominous, and very obviously empty. The windows were black, and high up to discourage anyone looking in. Green walked to the front door, which was plain other than the mail slot. A sign near the front door announced this as the Viridian Gym, but it was covered in dirt, giving it a decidedly forgotten look. Green slid the parcel into the slot, and turned away. "C'mon, this place gives me the creeps."

"It WOULD give you the creeps you chicken." Said a voice that Green had been hoping not to hear yet. She turned with a sigh to see Blue, who was looking up at the gym and smirking. "Nice big gym here. Someone should take this place over to not let it go to waste."

"What do you want, Blue?" Green asked more sharply than he'd intended.

Blue grinned at Green, then noticed Marta for the first time. "Aren't you gonna at least introduce me to your girlfriend?" he mocked with a smile. "She should know who I am so it's no surprise when I beat you."

Marta opened her mouth, but Green cut in. "Her name's Marta. She's charmed." Green pulled out a pokeball. "2 on 2 then?"

Blue smiled and pulled out a pokeball too. "Sounds good to me. You ruined my plans, you know. Red was supposed to get Bulbasaur, but we were ended up getting switched. I was gonna take Charmander. But you just had to mess it up, huh? Well Ill teach you a lesson. Go, Starly!" Blue let the pokeball fly, and it released the bird pokemon. It chirped as it fluttered in mid-air, glaring at Green with its' narrowed eyes.

"Charmander!" Green cried, throwing his own pokeball. Though she didn't show it, the Starly had disturbed her. It was arguably a better pokemon than Pidgey, after all, and it wouldn't be as much a brush off. Even as Green tried to remember what the rest of Blue's team was usually, the information eluded him like it was dodging out of the way. Charmander burs forth, and its' eyes almost immediately found the bird pokemon circling the battlefield.

"Quick attack!" Blue yelled, throwing out a hand.

Charmander yelped as the Starly blurred past it, sending it spinning. "Smokescreen, Charmander!" Green yelled, and Charmander obliged by belching out a thick smoke, which covered it in a cloud.

"Wing attack, Starly! Don't be discouraged!" Blue yelled.

Starly went wheeling back around in midair, and swooped in towards the cloud. It entered, and there were a few whooshing noises. Charmander skid sideways out of the cloud, having dodged this attack.

"Charmander, ember!" Green prompted, and Charmander hit the smoke with a burst of flame. Starly shrieked, and zoomed out of the smoke, its' feathers singed.

"Quick attack! It's out of the smoke!" Blue ordered as Charmander grinned at the Starly's fright. Starly wheeled in midair and shot down like a bullet, hitting Charmander soundly and driving it on its' butt. The Starly stayed in close, flapping its' wings and looking for somewhere to scratch with its' claws.

"Ember it Charmander!" Green said, and Charmander hit the Starly square on with the blast of fire. Starly may have been quite the fireball, but it couldn't take hits well. It struggled, and then fell limp as smoke slowly curled off its' singed body.

Blue slowly reached up and returned Starly. "Not bad. But I'll bet that I'm already a better trainer than you." He threw a pokeball. "I went near the entrance to Indigo Plateau and found this guy! Go, Larvitar!"

The small rock-type pokemon appeared, and glared at Charmander through narrowed eyes. "Sandstorm!" yelled Blue, and Larvitar obliged by throwing its' hands out, and whipping up a stinging cloud of sand. Charmander really seemed to dislike it, but he stood strong and unmoving.

"Charmander, ember!" Green said, but without much conviction. The plume of fire did hit the small figure of larvitar, but the thing hardly flinched. "Where's your Squirtle anyhow?"

"Screech!" Blue commanded simply, and Larvitar let out a high-pitched wail that had Charmander covering its' ears in pain. "Oh, I thought you said 2 on 2." Blue grinned. "I can use him too if you want."

"Smokescreen!" Green ordered, and the sandstorm was suddenly darker. It was hard to see any action inside.

"Finish it with tackle, Larvitar." Blue said, bored. Green could just barely see something leap at Charmander, and not even the smoke made it miss. Charmander slid out of the cloud on its' back, and Green returned it.

"Fine. Let's see how this works. Go Munchlax!" Green threw the pokeball, and Munchlax appeared in the sandstorm. Though she couldn't see it, it did look very confused, and she suspected it still felt the drink from earlier.

"Bite, Larvitar!" Blue commanded, pointing a finger. The blur that was obviously Larvitar jumped at the larger Pokemon, and latched onto Munchlax's arm.

Munchlax went crazy, and began running in circles, trying to throw Larvitar off. "Lick, Munchlax!" Green yelled, and Munchlax stopped his running long enough to drag his tongue slowly along the body. Larvitar stiffened, and suddenly the sandstorm began to die down. Green grinned. Larvitar was paralyzed.

"Tackle, Munchlax!" Green said airily. Munchlax pulled Larvitar off his body, took a step back, and slammed the other Pokemon with his bulk. Larvitar went skidding back to Blue, where it stiffly tried to get up.

"Don't bother." Blue said coldly to his Larvitar, returning it. He glared at Green for a moment, then his face burst into his traditional casual smirk. "Well, I guess it's lucky for you I didn't use Squirtle. Why not have some more Pokemon next time so we can have a real match?" he turned and walked off, not looking back. "Smell ya later!"

Green and Marta watched as Blue walked away. "Gee, he really wanted to beat you." Marta said conversationally.

Green looked Marta over for a minute, and then apparently decided against using sarcasm. It probably wouldn't work anyhow. "Yes." The two walked off towards the North Entrance of the town, and Viridian Forest. "Did your parents ever say something like, 'thank god you're pretty' or something?"

Marta considered seriously. "I don't think so. Why, do you think I'm pretty?" Marta asked, face turning red.

"****ing forget it. Let's just go."

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 6-****ing Forest

Green and Marta had stopped for lunch in the small rest house that lay right in front of the forest. On the ground around them, Charmander, Munchlax and Chikorita snacked at their lunches with gusto. Munchlax had a half-empty can near him, and made less noises than the other two pokemon, though he looked no less pleased.

"Gee, I hope we don't run into a lot of trainers here." Marta said, looking worried as she finished off her sandwich. "I hear there's lots of trainers here, and they like Bug-type pokemon. I hope Chikorita won't run into a lot of problems."

Green shrugged. "Just catch a few more pokemon while you're here. It's not good just to have one, anyhow."

Marta shook her head, and smiled at Green with an exasperated expression. "Oh, I don't just have one Pokemon, Green. That'd be silly."

This was news to Green, who looked up. "Wha? But all I've ever seen you send out is Chikorita."

Marta reached onto her belt, and produced a Pokeball. "I had to get here from Cinnabar Island somehow, right?" She said as she pressed the button.

Luckily there was nobody in the center of the room. It was immediately filled by a huge, coiled serpent. The Gyarados looked furious as it glared around the room, then as it saw Marta it's expression turned up at the corner, and it brought it's head down to eye level, making a deep contented noise. It took a moment before Green realized it was happy, and not just another kind of angry. Marta pet its' head lovingly for a moment, then she reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of the brown pokemon food balls, tossing them casually at the thing. It snapped them out of the air in one deft bite, and chewed happily as Marta returned it.

"His name's Jeffy." Marta said with a smile on her face as she clicked the pokeball back in place.

"Jeffy." Green repeated evenly. She could never understand nicknaming pokemon. It just seemed kinda silly for the most part. Especially if people had pokemon nicknamed Jeffy. How were you supposed to even fight a pokemon like that and not feel just a little embarrassed? And Green felt a little pang of annoyance at Marta's sudden change in pokemon status. She felt that being the one with the better team had been her main sticking point, and suddenly that had been taken away. Well, she'd remedy that here in the forest. There had been a Munchlax on the way to Viridian City, apparently a Larvitar near the Pokemon League entrance, and even a Totodile in Viridian City. Surely there would be decent pokemon here?

The two trainers packed up after their lunch, and left for the woods. Marta, as always, kept up a slow but steady conversation about nothing important. Her chatter was actually good, Green felt, because it means she could really look hard for pokemon because she'd be ignoring Marta so soundly.

Something caught her eye, and she put out an arm to stop Marta. "Woah, what's that?"

something lowered slowly from the tree above. An unmoving, chitinous yellow body that was unmistakably a Kakuna. It turned on a thread to look at the two of them.

"Charmander, ember." Green said with satisfaction. Charmander obliged, shooting a pull of fire that knocked the thing to the ground, smoking. She tossed a pokeball, and the thing was sucked inside, where it only struggled a moment. Green picked up the pokeball and clicked in place on her belt.

Marta clapped furiously as she bounded up to Green. "Yay, good job! I'll try to catch the next one, alright?" she asked, eyes sparkling behind her glasses, and ran ahead, excited now.

Green sighed and followed at a brisk walk. "This isn't a race! Geez!" Green hadn't even really intended to USE the Kakuna or anything. The idea that Blue had more pokemon than her was a bit annoying was all, and she wanted a few more soldiers. Plus, she got a good feeling whenever she caught a new pokemon. More importantly, Beedrill was a giant bee with drills for arms.

It was a few minutes until they found another pokemon. Marta was silent now, scanning the brush in eager anticipation, and she squealed as she caught sight of one. It was halfway up a tree, in front of a crack in a large tree trunk, out of which leaked a deep golden honey. Further up the tree, far out of reach and range of throwing, Combees flew to and away from the tree, bringing pollen and going out for more. The pokemon was a Heracross, which didn't even notice them as it drank heavily from the tree.

Green scowled. Life was ****ing unfair.

Marta tossed a pokeball. "Go, Chikorita! Razor Leaf!" Chikorita came bursting out, and with a flick of the head shot out a volley of spinning leaves at the unsuspecting Heracross. It yelped in surprise as the leaves bit into it, and whirled around to see what had attacked it.

Heracross hissed, snapped open its' wings, and zoomed down to Chikorita, horn first. It let out a "Chika!" before it got hit, rolling it away in a painful sprawl. Chikorita got up slowly.

"Chikorita, synthesis!" Marta encouraged, pointing to the sky.

Chikorita arranged its' top leaf so it caught the full sunlight streaming through the trees, and its' wounds vanished as Chikorita let out a satisfied sigh.

Heracross settled for glaring fiercely at the smaller opponent, which unsettled it, but the grass pokemon didn't run.

"Chikorita, tackle! Show him your strength!" Marta exclaimed. Chikorita darted forward, lowering its' head at the much larger bug. The collision knocked it off its' feet, which seemed to surprise it as much as it did Green. Chikorta landed on its' feet as Heracross landed on its' back, and began rocking frantically back and forth. Marta's pokeball caught the thing on the chest, and while it shook violently at first, it wasn't enough to break the hold. The red light dimmed.

Green had been watching the fight with her arms folded, thinking. Marta wasn't too bad at battling. Well, that is to say that against a wild Heracross her Chikorita had performed well. She was kind of pissed that everyone else seemed to be catching the good Pokemon, (except for the Munchlax, but Green brushed that off) but at the same time she was glad her new teammate had a decent team. Still, she'd be damned if the next good Pokemon went to Marta. "Nice job. That Heracross looks like quite a scrapper."

Marta nodded happily as she scooped up her Chikorita. "Great job Chikorita! Now, let's see our new Pokemon!" She placed Chikorita down, picked the pokeball up off the ground and pressed the button. Heracross appeared in a rush of red light, wings spread wide, and stretched wide. Marta smiled down at the beetle. "You can go back to the honey if you'd like, Heracross. We're gonna take a rest here I think." Heracross grinned widely, and bounded back up the tree, where the crack in the bark was still dripping honey slowly.

Green sighed and pulled out her pokeball. Kakuna was released with a rush of red light, but it merely sat there and remained silent. Charmander wandered up to the bug and poked it with a claw. Green sat down and poured herself a drink, and poured a second one for Munchlax even as he let his last pokemon out.

Marta drank slowly from her water bottle, and poured some in a dish for Chikorita. She giggled at Green and Munchlax, who were tipping back their drinks at the same time with nearly the same expression.

Green looked up curiously. "What's so funny?"

Marta smiled. "Oh nothing. Some people and their pokemon start to act alike after a while. You and Munchlax had a moment."

Green stared down at Munchlax as it looked back up to her. The two shrugged and went back to their drinks. "So, Marta. What are you going to do after you get the Boulder Badge anyhow?"

Marta seemed to take the question seriously, chewing her sandwich thoughtfully as she considered. "Well, my plan was going to be to just get the badge because I was in the area and head home. Now I don't know." Marta smiled. "You look so determined that I sort of want to see all the gyms through."

Green smiled back, but she felt conflicted about her new traveling companion. She really hadn't ever counted on bringing anyone with her, and while it did provide some advantages there was always the very real possibility that Marta would turn out to be more of a liability than a help. Green thought about mentioning that it would best if they parted ways after Pewter, but a look into Marta's strangely pink eyes killed the words even before they formed. A part of Green was laughing at the rest, calling it stupid for caring about hurting the feelings of something that was theoretically just a whim of something else's imagination, but there was another part of her that rejected that idea. If she started alienating herself from human contact and began training constantly, she suspected it may start taking a toll on her mental health, especially because when she had to focus on Marta her mind couldn't wander to areas like, 'will I ever get my penis back.'

Green realized she had not spoken back to Marta for at least a few minutes, and Marta looked tense, as if she feared her words had upset Green. Green smiled weakly. "Well, you've already got some great pokemon. I'm sure we'll get all eight, no problem." Marta blushed, looking pleased, and part of Green mentally scolded the rest for its' cowardice.

The two gathered up their belongings and returned their Pokemon. The woods were serenely quiet as they ambled along, Marta admiring the scenery while Green kept alert for any new Pokemon.

There was a crashing in the brush, but instead of a pokemon a young boy burst out of the woods. He looked out of breath, and even younger than Green, but he had a few pokeballs on his belt and grinned when his eyes found theirs. "Hey, you're pokemon trainers, right?" The kid had a net slung across his back, and a large wide-brimmed hat resting on his back, kept steady by a string running around his neck.

Green considered just telling him that they weren't, but Marta spoke up before she could really even consider the lie. "We sure are!"

"Great!" He pulled out a pokeball. "I challenge you to a battle!" He yelled at Green, who was slightly ahead of Marta.

Green sighed and extracted a pokeball of her own. "Fine. Let's get this over with. Munchlax!" Munchlax appeared on the ground in front of Green, looking tired but happy as it swayed on the spot.. It still smelled vaguely of alcohol.

"Ledyba!" The other trainer responded, sending his pokeball flying. It opened in midair and spilled out the six-legged buzzing ladybug. "Safeguard!" he ordered, and Ledyba let out a silver shimmer that stayed in the air.

"Munchlax, use tackle!" Green responded, and Munchlax tucked his head down and sprang at Ledyba. It caught it in mid-air and sent the two crashing to the ground. Munchlax rolled off a furious-looking Ledyba.

"Comet punch!" the kid that Green couldn't help but think of as a bug trainer yelled. His Ledyba sprang up with glowing fists and walloped Munchlax four times with sharp, wicked blows.

Munchlax growled, and without prompting from Green rammed the thing again with a full body tackle that sent the lighter pokemon soaring. It skid along the ground and lay still.

The boy returned the bug and pulled out another pokeball. "Fine. That's a tough pokemon you got there. Go, Weedle!" The next pokeball let out out the small bug, who reared its' head to face Muchlax. The point at its' end gleamed dully in the light.

Munchlax narrowed his eyes at the poised Pokemon, and the two had a moment of silence pass between them. Finally, Weedle lunged with a shrill cry, and for a moment Green thought Munchlax was in trouble. Munchlax's arm shot out and caught Weedle right below the head before it could make contact. Weedle went from looking fierce to looking confused, and then Munchlax crushed by simply falling forward, pinning the thing under his body. Munchlax rolled off with a smile, and wandered over to Green with a pleased expression on its' face. Green, who knew what he was after, gave him the rest of the first bottle. There was still a second one after all.

The other trainer looked disappointed as he returned his Weedle. "Well. That hurt my self esteem a bit."

Green patted Munchlax, who was slurring "Muuunch..." as he paused from his slide into alcoholism. "Well, I'm sure that... you'll do fine." Green said slowly, knowing that she'd never see this guy again. "Bye!"

The other trainer nodded vaguely. "Yeah. I guess. Well, watch out. There's some tough trainer who came through here a while ago with an Ivysaur. I dunno if he's still around. He kept talking about being the best trainer ever and stuff."

Green narrowed her eyes. "Oh did he."

In the silence that followed, the other trainer started looking more and more uncomfortable. Finally, he pointed vaguely towards Viridian City. "Well... leaving."

Marta bounded up to Green, clapping her hands enthusiastically. "Good job! Your Munchlax is really strong! You hardly have to tell it what to do!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it only knows two attacks..." Green muttered as she returned Munchlax.

Marta looked puzzled, and Green quickly added, "Well, I'm pretty sure he's just going for that reward. But he's certainly determined."

Marta smiled warmly at Green and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're being too modest. You always fight with such passion. It's like losing never crossed your mind."

It took Green a moment to analyze Marta's expression, and it embarrassed her to discover it was admiration. That was just great. Why in the name of God had she been latched onto some hyper touchy-feely emotions girl who apparently had the self-esteem of a limp noodle. Sure Marta had her charms, but the cynic that was Rudolph deep inside Green put it like this. She's a goddamn handicap. In more ways than one. Sure, she can get you alcohol but you can tell she doesn't like it. And secondly, not to put too fine a point on it, she's a pretty hot girl with a great set of tits and I am in the body of an 11 year old girl. It's like having a delicious fruit just out of reach. And it's not like I'm gonna let some guy ram me or anything. That would just feel... gay. At some level, for me, it would feel straighter and much hotter to just go ahead and...

Marta shook Green, looking worried as Green suddenly came to, looking around wildly. "What's wrong? You've been doing that a lot. Going all silent after little compliments like that."

Green nodded slowly. "Yes. Well. I have a lot to think about. Sorry if I'm coming off cold, it's not you. Let's keep going! I wanna try hitting Pewter City by dark."

Marta smiled and walked along behind Green, who was glad her back was to Marta. Being in this body was going to take a bit of trial-and-error, she felt. Marta didn't bring up the point of her silent lapses again, which pleased Green.

The next pokemon they came across was a Caterpie. Green didn't even bother sending out a Pokemon, but instead just tossed a pokeball at the thing. It caught it without much of a fuss, and the two continued without hardly a pause in their small talk. There was also another couple of trainers, which the two girls took turns fighting. Marta mostly used her new Heracross, as the bugs the trainers in the forest used were usually strong against Grass types. Green used her Charmander, and the bug users hardly stood a chance. Deep down she felt it was unfair to defeat trainer after trainer with the phrase "Charmander, ember" ad nauseam. Marta caught a Wurmple of her own with a casually tossed pokeball, and the two were in high spirits as they neared the end of the forest.

Green sighed in relief as she saw a sign reading 'Pewter City Rest House, 1/2 Mile' on the side of the path. Her legs were starting to ache. "Why don't we stop for a minute. Not much longer now."

The two had a light snack as Green flicked food balls to Charmander, who snatched them deftly out of the air with appreciative noises. Things were peacefully quiet, and the two enjoyed the atmosphere of the forest.

A crunching came slowly through the underbrush. The two froze, and Charmander perked up and swung his head. Out of the forest came a short, yellow and green ball with two mini legs. The smell of food must have alerted it, because it sniffed the air eagerly.

Green grinned. A Shroomish, how grand! "Charmander, scratch! Shoot to wound!" Charmander whipped forward and caught the Shroomish with two swift scratches that made it tumble backwards, yelping. Figuring that was enough, she tossed a pokeball. Charmander looked quite smug as the red light dimmed without much fuss. "Nice job Charmander! Wow, I wasn't expecting a Shroomish. Hehe, this is great!"

Marta looked pleased. "Good for you! You needed a grass type, right?"

Green nodded happily. "Yup, and I've got a pokemon to help me with Brock's Gym now!"

Charmander, completely unexpectedly, looked crushed. He looked to Green with sudden hurt-filled eyes that made her feel horrible even before she knew what happened. Charmander turned its' back to Green.

Green shot a panicked glance to Marta, bewildered. "Um, what happened?"

Marta looked serious. "I think he thinks you think he's unreliable."

Green puzzled over the sentence for a minute, then realized what she must've meant. Green reached out and picked up Charmander, who resisted for a moment with an annoyed expression on its' face until Green said, "I thought it was understood I had total faith in you already. I already knew you were gonna help me with Brock's gym. I just think Munchlax might have a hard time, what with them being rocks."

Charmander hesitated for a moment, but smiled up at Green with a pleased expression. It accepted the head scratching, and no more was said as they all packed up to leave.

As the two turned a final bend in the path, they could see the rest house down a straight shot. Green looked pleased as they neared it, but around 200 feet from the building two figures stepped out into their path with grins that made green groan inside. These guys had 'thug' written all over them and she suspected she knew what they were.

"Hey, there's a fee to enter the rest house now, girls." Said the man on the right, who dressed nearly the same as the man on the left, with large trench coats and black hats. The only difference was the hair color, it seemed.

Green pulled out a pokeball. "Let's not mess around guys. If you're trying to shake us down you need to get moving."

Marta, who had looked puzzled, pulled out a pokeball as well, looking determined.

Both men hesitated, and the man on the left gave his partner a look that said, "maybe we should wait for the next pair." There was a long pause.

The other man snarled in anger and pulled out a pokeball of his own. "You little punks. The fee was just gonna be your money, but now it's gonna be your pokemon too!"

Both men threw out two pokeballs. A Pineco and Drowzee appeared in front of the left trainer, and in front of the right trainer a Tauros and a Spearow appeared. Both men were grinning wickedly.

Green threw out Kakuna, which appeared next to Charmander. "I'll take the one on the left. If you need help just say so."

"Green? Are these men Team Rocket?" Marta asked as she threw out her pokeballs, sending out Heracross and Chikorita with a flick of the wrist.

The words triggered something in Green. A repressed memory? So many things had been stirred by the words, but it was all confusing nonsense. Something about Mt. Moon though. No doubt about it, Mt. Moon. But what or why about Mt. Moon remained a mystery to Green. She certainly knew who Team Rocket was though. "I'd say yes."

Green leaned down and whispered something to Charmander. She pointed to Pineco, then to Drowzee, then to Kakuna. Charmander nodded.

The man on the left scowled. "Hey! No planning! Drowzee, confusion! Pineco, Rapid Spin!" The Drowzee went and closed its' eyes right away, and Charmander was outlined in a pale blue glow that looked as if it hurt. Pineco started spinning quickly on the spot, and it zoomed towards Kakuna, bouncing along the ground.

"Kakuna, harden!" Green yelled, and Kakuna shone white for a moment as it strengthened its' armor. Pineco rammed into it, but Kakuna held its' ground. "Charmander, ember!"

Charmander turned his head, ignoring the blue pain, and fired a stream of fire at Pineco, whom it caught completely unaware. It bounced away from Kakuna, who had not been damaged by Charmander's well aimed flame.

"Drowzee, Disable!" The man yelled, and Drowzee opened his eyes, which shone green. The blue glow disappeared from Charmander, to be replaced by a green one. Charmander's fire stopped, an he looked nonplussed. "Pineco, take down!" The pine cone, who already looked worse for the wear, launched itself at Kakuna with a desperate tackle.

Kakuna shone white again, and the blow that should have at least shook it didn't seem to budge him at all. Pineco looked as if he took more damage from the move, in fact.

"Charmander, smoke screen!" Green yelled, who was sure she knew what was going to happen next. Charmander spewed out smoke in Drowzee's direction, and she could see the Drowzee squinting through the smoke, having trouble making out the battle now. "Kakuna, harden!" Suddenly, as if on some unspoken order, Charmander sprinted at Pineco.

The man smirked. "Gotcha, kid. Pineco, Selfdestruct!" The Pineco, in command, began to glow with a quickly intensifying white light.

Charmander, who had already been rushing to Pineco, picked it up and hurled it towards Drowzee with all the might it could muster. It hid behind Kakuna then, trying to squeeze as much of itself behind Kakuna as possible.

Pineco exploded, and the blast cleared the smoke for the most part. Drowzee sat in the middle, looking dazed and hurt as it looked around for a clue of what was happening. Pineco lay smoking nearby. As Drowzee got to its' feet, it saw without registering it much a white glow in front of it. Kakuna, who had protected Charmander with its' body, was suddenly changing shape. Pointed arms folded out from the body, as well as wings and a real head as well. The Beedrill flexed its' wings and turned to glare at Drowzee.

"Fury Attack, Beedrill!" Green encouraged, and Beedrill rushed the psychic pokemon. It got five swift blows in with its' new arms, which proved too much for the Drowzee, who fell backwards with a thud.

The other trainer returned both pokemon. "How did you know I'd use that move?! Geez that's so unfair!" The guy looked to his partner, who's Spearow had fainted under Marta's assault. Tauros was still up, but the double-team of Chikorita and Heracross was obviously going to win. "Hey, we're out of here! Screw these kids!" The man ran off towards Viridian City then with a sudden rush, staying far away from their pokemon and not looking back to see if his partner was coming.

The other man returned his Tauros, but as he tried to follow his partner he found Beedrill in his way, brandishing his two menacing points. the man looked around, and realized he was surrounded by pokemon. A bead of sweat traveled down his face as he saw Charmander, flames sparking from his mouth as he growled at the man. "Look... look, what do you kids what? You don't need to hurt me, just... tell me what I gotta do."

Green scowled at the man. "Throw us your wallet."

The man hesitated for a moment, but as Heracross butted him in the back with his horn, the man scrambled in his pocket and threw Green the wallet.

Green picked it up and pocketed it without a word. "Now, tell us. You're Team Rocket, right?"

The man scowled, and his expression was still for a moment as he considered. Finally, he spoke slowly. "If you know that then you better let me go kid. We don't like it when people mess with our organiz..."

"Toss me your pokeballs." Green interrupted, glaring angrily at the man.

"What?" He asked, blinking in surprise at the demand.

"Give me your pokemon now, or I'm burning off your ****ing clothes and dragging your ass to the police station in Pewter City. Toss me your ****ing pokeballs and leave RIGHT NOW."

The man scowled, and looked down to his pokeballs with a pouty expression. "But, I stole these from..."

"Charmander!" Green intoned, and Charmander hit the man at the bottom of his trench-coat with a stream of fire. It took the screaming man a moment to put out the edge of the coat.

"Fine, fine, you crazy little hellspawn!" He tossed his pokeballs on the ground, and ran off towards Viridian City as fast as his legs could take him. The pokemon let him go, and the footsteps rattled down the path. He stopped for a moment once he was nearly out of earshot, and turned to speak. "Don't worry. We'll have our revenge at Mt. Moon." With that he grinned and rounded a band in the path, and soon they couldn't even make him out through the trees.

Green walked over and picked up the two pokeballs, dropping them in her left pocket. "We'll turn these in at the police station. We can do that, right?"

Marta nodded at Green with admiration in her eyes. "Yes, that's fine! Green, you really took care of that guy! That was amazing!"

Green smiled back. "I didn't do much. Really I just stole from a thief which is no big deal."

Marts shook her head. "But you disarmed him of his Pokemon, and now they'll be sent to a proper Pokemon ranch, plus you got his wallet so we can give it to the authorities!"

Green blinked. "Authorities? Oh, right. We can do that." She took the wallet out and pulled the money free from it. "Really, I was just wanting him to buy us a nice dinner." She had also been worrying about the mention of Mt. Moon. Of course, if they wanted the next badge they'd have to go there. She knew that, but she still felt it would just be trouble.

Marta giggled as the two walked towards the Pewter Rest House, the sun already pink in the distance.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 7-The New Brock

It was later on that night, and Green opened the door to their hotel room with a weary groan. Marta came in behind her, yawning as she placed her pack down and shut the door. Both looked exhausted. It had been about an hour over at the Pewter City Police Department, where Green had met with a blue-haired Officer Jenny (which confused Green, as they weren't in the games, or at least as far as she could remember) and told her about their encounter with the Team Rocket members. The officer was very kind and understanding, but she also insisted on the two remaining at the station until she had gotten the full story, as well as their names and a scan of their pokedexes. The pokemon were taken and transferred at once to a Pokemon ranch, and the wallet sealed in a plastic bag once an inventory had been taken of its' contents. Officer Jenny had thanked the two of them profusely for their assistance, and even as Green and Marta went to find a hotel two officers were deployed to the forest on a sidecar motorcycle. They had rented a hotel with some of the money they had gotten off the Rocket member, and the rest went to a large meal that was delivered up to the room.

After they had eaten their fill, Green excused herself to the bathroom to take a shower, realizing that she technically hadn't bathed since entering this body. Readying a change of clothing, she ran the shower and got dressed slowly and methodically. Stepping out of the last bit of clothes and tossing them in a heap in the corner, Green took a moment to look herself over in the mirror. She hadn't technically seen herself fully naked yet either, come to think of it. If she took a step back, so to speak, and looked at herself objectively then she was quite attractive. She looked away and got into the shower, letting her tense muscles relax in the hot water.

When she was finished, spending longer than normal perhaps because of all the new novelties, she toweled herself off and got dressed in some light clothing obviously meant to be slept in.

Marta was sitting on her bed as Green entered the room, scribbling happily in a notebook. She closed it and gathered a towel and some clothes. "Whew, good timing. I was just finished. It'll feel so nice to take a nice long shower after all that walking." still stretching with a smile, she wandered into the bathroom and shut the door.

There was a small device in the closet that looked like a washing machine that Green shoved her clothes into. From the look of the settings on the device, it also doubled as a drier, which was convenient if not exactly understandable. As the shower started up in the bathroom, Green settled on her bed. She reached down to her bag and took a drag from the bottle in there, as a nightcap, replacing it gently before settling back again. Everything was quiet as the shower hissed in the next room, and Green found her eyes closing slowly even as she wondered if she should even bother getting under the covers.

The next morning, Green woke with a snort as she felt the sting of sunlight on her eyelids. She groaned and turned slowly from the window, smacking her lips as she thought about getting more shuteye.

"Good morning!" Marta said cheerfully as she saw Green's eyes flutter. "I got breakfast!"

The smell of food coaxed Green's eyes open, and she sat up in bed with a groan, slipping a pair of socks on before sliding up to the pair of ham and egg sandwiches Marta had sitting on the table, along with a few bottles of some sort of juice. From the way Marta was bustling around she must be a morning person, which annoyed Green a bit, who was certainly not a willing one. Green grabbed and ate her sandwich slowly and mechanically.

Marta hummed as she ate her own breakfast, flipping leisurely through a magazine she has obviously procured during the sandwich trip. It had the eight badges of the Kanto Pokemon League on the front, with "Battling Digest" emblazoned across the top.

"Trying to read up on the League, eh?" Green asked, once she got food in her stomach and some juice to wash it down.

Marta nodded seriously. "I never thought I'd even think about getting all of the badges. Looks like we're going to have to go across all of Kanto!"

Green nodded vaguely as she finished off her bottle of juice, and picked another one up off the table. She carefully evened the level out in the full and empty bottles, making two half-bottles. Turning to her bag, she casually drew out the bottle and added vodka in equal measures, topping the bottles off. Releasing Munchlax, who yawned and stretched in the morning light, she sipped hers even as she passed him one. Munchlax took it gratefully, and slowly drank at the thing with his eyes closed.

Marta eventually put away her magazine with a satisfied noise. "Well, are you ready to go?"

Green tossed the remainder of her sandwich to Munchlax, who ate it as Green finished off her juice. "Sure, just gotta get dressed." Green yawned and wandered into the bathroom with her change of clothes and toothbrush. While in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, Green considered. On the one hand, she was ready to take on the gym challenge. On the other hand, who knew what kind of changes had been made to the rock gym. Shroomish was the best change she had on this gym, and she hadn't even let him out of his pokeball yet.

As Green walked out of the bathroom, straightening her hat, she decided that going for it now would be the best bet. Asking Marta to train first would be a good idea, but there was a part of her that wouldn't allow her to do that. She had a reputation she needed to keep up, if not for Marta then at least to beat Blue and Red along the way. She looked to Marta. "Let's roll."

On the way to the gym, the two passed a Pokemon Mart, and Marta snapped her fingers. "Right, I need some more pokeballs! Let's go inside for a minute."

Green nodded vaguely. She thought she only had two or three more pokeballs from the stock Professor Oak had given her, so restocking now couldn't hurt. She followed, and smiled as she saw the small, familiar pokemon center. Marta had walked right up to the counter, and was asking for pokeballs.

"Pokedex, please." the woman behind the counter said pleasantly, holding out her hand. Marta handed it over, and the woman plugged it into a console behind the counter. The woman scanned her screen for a moment, and smiled. "What can I get for you?"

"Six pokeballs, please. Oh, and four antidotes." she said with a smile. Marta looked to Green as the woman retrieved her order. "What's on your mind?"

Green wondered internally what was sold on the shelves if the important things were all behind the counter, and scanned a shelf. Energy bars, a magazine rack, and other small traveling amenities littered the shelves. She turned to Marta. "Nothing, just don't know what to get."

Marta got her order, thanked the girl behind the register and walked to the magazine rack, where she scanned it curiously while Green walked up to the counter.

Green handed over her pokedex, and the woman behind the counter plugged it in. The pokedex turned on and showed Green a total of her money. She looked at it for a moment, and glanced at a list of available pokeballs. She perked up when she noticed not just pokeballs, but great balls, ultra balls and even net balls, heal balls, luxury balls and dusk balls. She only had enough money for a couple of the good pokeballs, so she calculated her order in her mind to give herself at least a little bit of spending money after should the need arise. "I'll take four pokeballs, one ultra ball, and two dusk balls." Green felt confident with the order, knowing that the best pokemon were usually in caves, and Mt. Moon was coming up after all. Green waited a few minutes, and her order was delivered. Green's total on her pokedex dropped noticeably, and the girl behind the counter disconnected the pokedex with a pull of the cord.

"Have a great day!" the woman said cheerfully, waving at Green and Marta as the two emptied their orders from the paper bags into their bags.

Ten minutes later they were standing in front of the gym's front doors. It was eerily quiet here, and the high cold windows around the building from the outside looked dead and foreboding, so like the Viridian Gym. The only difference here was a sign out front, detailing this place as the Pewter Gym, run by Gym Leader Brock and specializing in rock type Pokemon.

Green reached out and pushed the left door open slowly, the huge wooden plank creaking as it revealed the gym's interior. Inside the ground was made of smooth hewn rock, up until the main battling ring, which looked like a quarry yard. Soft hanging fluorescent lights lit the gym evenly and professionally, and the circle of high windows from the inside left a brilliant view of the high forest to one side, and a mountain that must have been Mt. Moon to the other. A man sat patiently on a flat rock near the center of the room, reading a book before he looked up at his new guests.

Before anyone could move, a man next to the door grinned at the both of them. "Hey there, champ-to-be! I'll let you in on a secret about..."

"Shut up!" Green snapped, annoyed. The man back off, holding his hands up to show surrender.

Brock flipped his book closed. "Ah, welcome! This is the Pewter City Gym. I'm Brock. I take it you lovely ladies are here to battle for the Boulder Badge?" Brock stood up, put his book in his pocket, and crossed his hands across his chest. A confident smirk stood out on his face, even if his eyes looked closed to slits.

"Yes sir, we are." Marta responded, entering the gym first. Green pulled the door shut behind her and followed. "Yes, I'm Marta, and this is Green. We are indeed here to challenge you." She spoke timidly, as if this was costing her every ounce of courage she had.

Brock smiled encouragingly. "Of course. Then the two of you should decide who will fight first, and who second. This will be a 2 on 2 pokemon battle for the both of you. And I'm sure you'll do fine." The last part was thrown to Marta as Brock took the opportunity to step in closer.

Marta blushed, and Green stepped in between the two of them, scowling at Brock. She was sure that on the job he was supposed to be acting professional. "I'm sure she will. I'll go first, if it's all the same to you."

Brock grinned, and took two pokeballs off his belt with a pair of clicks. "Fine by me. Are you ready?"

Marta began to back up off the field, and Green gulped. This was it. Time to go for the gold. "Shroomish, go." Shroomish appeared, and hopped in place a few times, making little chirping noises.

Brock tossed his first pokeball. "Nosepass, go!" The little rock man with the large nose appeared in front of Brock, and tilted its' head around the room for a moment before pointing its' nose at Shroomish.

"Stun spore, Shroomish!" Green commanded, and Shroomish seemed to deflate a bit as it held in a deep breath. It spewed out a cloud of spores at Nosepass, and the rock pokemon didn't dodge out of the cloud quite in time. Its' movements because suddenly much more stiff.

"Nosepass, Rock Throw!" Brock pointed at a likely stone, and Nosepass grabbed it, and managed to hurl the rock with surprising speed. It hit Shroomish on the head, and it staggered back a few steps, looking dazed.

"Shroomish, Absorb!" Shroomish breathed in and concentrated, eyes fixed on Nosepass. There was a noticeable stream of something, energy probably, going from one pokemon to the other. Nosepass looked exhausted, but still stood.

"Nosepass, rock throw!" Brock intoned again, and the Nosepass, still moving slowly like a stop motion film, grabbed another rock and chucked it at Shroomish. It hit straight on, and Shroomish went tumbling back. That rock had hit it pretty hard, and Shroomish didn't look like it wanted to get up right now. Green returned her Shroomish as Brock chuckled. "I do allow rematches, you know."

Green ground her teeth together, and threw out the next pokeball. Charmander came out with a flash of red light, and flashed its' claws.

"Nosepass, rock throw!" Brock said, pointing to a fresh rock. Nosepass was reaching slowly to it, but the stun spores suddenly made it freeze, hand inches from the stone. Green fancied that the frozen Nosepass' eyes flickered to Charmander nervously.

"Charmander, Metal Claw!" Green commanded, and Charmander rushed forward, claws suddenly flashing in the light and sun. As it closed in, Nosepass looked more and more frantic in his reach for the rock. Right when it was just about to touch it, Charmander slashed quickly at the thing once. It slashed through rock easily, and Nosepass fell back with a crash.

Brock returned his Nosepass with a scowl. "Well, This battle isn't over..." even as Brock pulled out his second pokeball, he stopped his speech. Charmander was glowing, and letting out a low "Chaaaaaaar...." that was getting slowly deeper.

Charmeleon finished the evolution process, and brandished its' claws at Brock, who looked impressed. "Well, congratulations! Of course there's still round 2." He threw his next pokeball, and it opened to reveal Onix. It swung its' head to glare at Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon, smokescreen!" Green yelled, pointing at the rock snake's head. Charmeleon spewed a stream of smoke at the Onix, covering the area around its' head in thick black smoke.

"Onix, bind!" Onix swiped its' tail out in a vicious curl, but Charmeleon ducked out of the way.

"Charmeleon, Metal Claw!" Charmeleon sprang on the rock serpent's tail, and from there to the thing's upper back. It slashed viciously with its' claws, sending rock chunks flying.

Brock's Onix went crazy, swinging itself violently to shake Charmeleon off, but the lizard stayed on, gripping with claws that gleamed like a sword. "Onix, smash it against a rock!" Brock commanded, and Onix whipped its' head at a rock viciously.

Charmeleon fell off Onix, and the thing smashed its' head into a stone with an audible crack. It pulled out of the rock slowly, the rock spike atop its' head noticeably chipped. It groaned softly. Charmeleon took a deep breath, and sprayed it in the face with a white hot flame even as Green yelled, "Dragon Rage!"

Onix fell to the ground, and didn't get up. Brock returned it, and when he looked up to Green she was surprised to see him smiling at her. "Wow, I shouldn't have even joked. You made me look positively foolish out there. You've earned the Boulder Badge. Here." Brock flipped Green the badge, which she caught easily. The badge was surprisingly small, and it reminded her of a large collectible pin. She pocketed the thing with a grin.

"Thanks. You weren't so bad, squinty." Green responded with a jovial smile.

Marta ran forward, clapping her hands excitedly as Brock looked a bit sulky. "Oh, congratulations Green! You were brilliant! And Charmeleon, you were great too!" she said to the lizard, scratching its' head. Charmeleon eagerly accepted the praise and scratching, looking pleased with itself.

Green nodded faintly. "Yeah, thanks. But it's your turn now, Marta." she didn't want to make too much of a fuss about her win because she didn't want to stay here long, already thinking that they could probably get to Cerulean City tonight if they hustled.

Marta got up, smiling. "Right! We'll save the celebration for after." She turned to face Brock. "Sir, I hereby issue an official request for battle!" she said swiftly, holding up a pokeball in slightly trembling fingers.

Brock took a pokeball off his belt. "Of course! Say, you wouldn't happen to want to add another condition to this fight, eh?" he asked with a smile.

"What's that?" Marta asked, looking puzzled.

"If I win, I get to take you on a date." Brock said quickly, and Green had an idea that this had been in his mind a while.

Marta blinked, and then suddenly looked completely serious, almost angry. She spoke in a slow, chilling voice. "No, I would not enjoy those terms. My boyfriend wouldn't either."

Brock's smile turned slowly to putty under the heat of Marta's gaze. Green had never seen her so upset. Brock threw out his pokeball, apparently in hopes that a battle now would stop this awkward moment. "Oh. Well, we um, don't have to use those terms. Geodude!" A Geodude appeared, and stretched its' arms wide.

"Chikorita." Marta said somberly, and her loyal leaf pokemon appeared. "Magical Leaf." Chikorita flicked her head at the Geodude, and it fell back under the sudden assault of multicolored leaves, got swept up and crashed into a boulder. It slumped to the ground.

Green and Brock exchanged a glance. Green shrugged in sympathy. Who'd have guessed Marta would get so upset at anything this much? Brock returned his Geodude with a sigh, and sent out his next pokemon, a Sudowoodo.

"Low kick!" Brock said, his voice trying to be forceful but coming out half-hearted. It was obvious that part of him just wanted this to be over.

Sudowoodo lashed out at Chikorita, catching it and sending it sprawling back.

"Magical Leaf!" Marta commanded, and as Chikorita got up it caused another rain of multicolored leaves. This threw Sudowoodo back, and used its' arms to block its' face.

"Mimic, Sudowoodo!" Brock encouraged, and when Sudowoodo moved this time, it fired a volley of multicolored leaves back at Chikorita.

Chikorita looked cut up, but not nearly done yet. "Razor leaf!" Marta yelled, and Chikorta sent out four quick, spinning leaves. They all hit Sudowoodo, and the larger rock pokemon fell with a crash onto its' back.

Marta cheered, and rushed up to Chikorita, but stopped as it began to glow. Chikorita grew larger, and the nubs around its' neck became more pronounced. It stretched as the glow died, leaving Bayleef in the place of Chikorita. Marta hugged it and smiled. "Great job, Bayleef! We won our first gym match!"

Brock looked humbled as he took out another Boulder Badge and tossed it to Marta without a word. His cheeks were red.

Marta caught the badge, looked at it, and then walked up to Brock. She held out her hand, and Brock shook it. "Oh, I'm not angry anymore, Mr. Brock. It's just that in the future maybe gym battles aren't the best place to ask for a date."

Brock nodded, and rubbed the back of his neck as he laughed nervously. "Well, I certainly agree with you there. You both did excellent in your battles. I hope to see both of you another day in the future. If you'd ever like a rematch, let me know. I'm glad be giving you your first badges, your first step to becoming Pokemon Masters."

Green piped up from where she was sitting on a rock as the two let go of each others hand. "Hey, you didn't see a guy with a Wartortle and another guy with an Ivysaur come through here, huh?"

Brock nodded glumly. "I take it all three of you were from Oak. Not that I'd expect any less, he always sends out good students." he smiled warmly at Green, who couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, thanks man. We'll stop in sometime!" Green promised as she went for the exit doors to the gym, waving at Brock as Charmeleon ran behind her, protective as a mother hen.

Marta bowed quickly, and hurried to catch up with her eager companion as she returned Bayleef. "Goodbye!"

Brock just waved until the door to his gym closed. He took the book out of his pocket, titled 'Dating & You,' and crossed out the line 'surprise them shortly after you meet them with a swift and sincere request for a date!'

"Well, that was a failure I think." Brock commented dryly.

"That's for sure!" agreed the man next to the front door.

As Green and Marta left the Gym and began talking happily about their wins, something watched them go, and used a gutter pipe along one edge of the building to get down and follow silently.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 8-Mt. Moon Blues

It was late that night when they got to the Pokemon Center outside of Mt. Moon. They had battled a handful of trainers on the way, and had given Shroomish, Munchlax and Heracross a chance to try their hand out on the kids. Most of the kids had used Rattattas, Sentrets or Bidoofs mostly, with a few Taillows, Pidgeys and Spearows thrown in to make things interesting. One kid even had a Treecko, which gave Heracross a run for its' money.

Green walked gratefully through the air-conditioned front sliding doors of the Pokemon Center. The place wasn't crowded, but there were a good amount of people sitting around on the ample floor, at least twelve. Most were in groups of two or three, but a couple of solitary people were here too, mostly sitting on the large circular couches that reminded Green on hotel lobby couches. The people on the floor either had sleeping bags, or in the case of two young girls who looked to be sisters, a tent propped into a corner. There was plenty of room in the middle of the room for walking, so they didn't disturb anyone as they walked up to the counter and gave their pokeballs to a smiling Nurse Joy, who assured them their pokemon would be healed post-haste.

Green sighed in relief as she plopped down on the couch, then opened her eyes and scanned the room for a concessions table. She spotted it, a large and low table, being restocked by a happily singing Chansey. Like the Viridian City table, it was covered with fruits, wrapped snack bars and the like, but also sandwiches, water, coffee, juice, and what looked like three covered hot dishes. There was even a number of baskets under the table full of Pokemon food, and Green noticed a Vulpix and an Aron eating from two different baskets under the table. A Tangela wandered up and started eating from a third. Green frowned at this, and turned to Marta. "Say, something bothered me back at Viridian City. Who pays for all the food on the concessions table?"

Marta thought seriously about it. "I'm pretty sure it's from the same place that pays for the Pokemon Centers. The Elite Four Fund."

Green looked bewildered. "Wait, how does that work? The Elite Four pays for everything?"

"No, not just like that. The Elite Four ends up with a lot of money, after all. Every year trainers from all over come and try to face them. They also defeat a lot of trainers. Getting half of a couple trainers' money adds up." Marta observed, eyeing the covered dishes.

Green followed Marta to the table, and got a few sandwiches as Marta got a baked sweet potato from one covered plate, and what looked like baked fish from another. "But, we don't get money from those little trainer battles we do out there. The Elite Four does?"

Marta sat down, and ate a few bites as she smiled at Green with an, 'oh you're so silly' expression on her face. "Of course we do! The pokedex deals with it all."

Green stopped halfway through her sandwich and flipped open her Pokedex. She hadn't even stopped and looked at it, come to think of it. Hardly even opened it since leaving the lab, in fact. After some searching though, she found there was, in fact, a running credit total. She blinked at it. "So... why do some people have paper money then?"

Marta finished her bite of sweet potato before speaking. "Well, people don't always keep all their money in their pokedex account. It's good to have walking around money after all."

Green felt weird as she looked at the total amount. It'd be so easy to cheat the system. Just take all they money out, and fight with no fear of losing cash. At the same time, she wondered if it was breaking some kind of rule. Plus, there didn't seem to be a need to walk around with huge amounts of cash. That was just inviting trouble.

As Green was looking at her pokedex, a man came sauntering up with a salesman's grin on his face, a pokeball in hand. "Excuse me, I just heard you ran into some money, young lady! Well, it just so happens..."

"Get outta here!" Green barked, not wanting to deal with the Magikarp man.

The two continued to eat in silence as the man walked off dejectedly until Green asked, in a low voice, "So, why did you get so upset at Brock anyhow? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Marta hesitated, and from her expression this was the question she was hoping would have been overlooked. She put her plate on her knees. "I don't know if I have a boyfriend now."

Green considered those words, and opened her mouth hesitantly to speak, but Marta kept talking, and this time she said it all in a rush. "Me and Francis were dating for like two years you see and we both decided to go on a Pokemon journey together and so we signed up to get starters but then the day before the starters showed up he said that maybe we should go our separate ways not break up but have a trial separation sort of thing so that when we meet back up absence will have made our feelings stronger."

Green considered these words even longer. She felt deep down that she wasn't built for all this emotional stuff just yet. The hormones were probably there, but the motivation wasn't. Plus, it sounded like this dude wanted his cake and to eat it too, while eating out a couple other cakes as well. Maybe it wasn't fair to jump to such conclusions, but she felt she knew enough about the male mind to know what some 18-year-old was thinking when he suggested a few months time apart, so that he has a piece of ass to come back home to while feeling free to literally walk across the region and not feel bad about hooking up with any poke-**** that walked across his path. What she said was, "Look Marta, I can't tell you what to do with this guy. I do know that you probably shouldn't hold your breath for a guy who wanted to take a life-altering journey across a land full of interesting without you, even though he claims he has feelings for you."

Marta was silent at those words, and the two finished their meals quietly. Green gathered up the dishes, and brought them to a window, where another Chansey took them and began washing them with a happy little song. By the time she wandered back to the couch, Marta was writing in her journal, and her eyes were red.

Green sat down next to Marta, and was silent as the writing went on. A Blissey wandered up with a tray of pokeballs, which Green accepted with a smile. Finally, Marta finished writing, and closed her book. She looked down at Green's offered handful of pokeballs and took them slowly. "Look, Marta, I'm sorry if what I said made you..."

"No, I'm not angry at you." She sniffed. "I'm angry at myself right now. Maybe him a little. Maybe you're right, after all. If he didn't even want to come n this journey with me, what does that make him? It means he doesn't wanna share this with me, and that's not right."

Green nodded slowly. This was getting a bit more personal than she wanted to deal with. She got up and walked to the concessions table, coming back with three cups and a container of what looked to be orange juice. Pouring three glasses half full, she filled them the rest of the way with the remainder of her bottle. She released Munchlax, who accepted his cup gratefully as he sat down and drank heavily.

Marta hesitated when Green offered one. "I don't know... I just,"

Green shook her head and offered it again more forcefully. "No, we're gonna drink and forget about what's-his-face tonight. Marta, you got your first gym badge today! Let's live a little bit, what do you say?"

Marta accepted her glass this time, hesitating for a long moment before tasting it slowly. She smacked her lips a bit, then drank deeper. "It's not too bad I suppose."

Green beamed, and started on her drink as well. After the first round, Green stopped by the PC in the corner to pick up a couple bottles, and made another round as things quieted down in the main room.

The drinks were a lot stronger than last time, and halfway through the round Marta put her cup down slowly and steadily, with the slow preciseness of someone a bit sloshed. "I'll be right back Green. I've gotta go use the ladiesh' room."

Green laid her head back as Marta left. Things were peaceful in the main room as people slowly began drifting off to sleep. When someone sat down next to Green she thought it was Marta, but instead she saw a girl closer to her own age with purple hair cut short and loose fitting black clothes. Green admired the hair for a moment, close-cut but still long enough to make sure the viewer knew knew she was female.

The new girl crossed her legs and smiled at Green. "Sorry if I'm interrupting. I saw the two of you having a good time, so I decided to join. Do you mind?" Green shook her head, and smiled as she poured her a drink. The new girl took it gratefully. "Thanks. I'm Janine, by the way."

Green searched her mind. The name was so damn familiar. Try as she might, she couldn't connect it with anything however.

"Thanks. I don't drink much, but being my age you get it when you can." She grinned at her joke, and drank from her cup again.

"Green's my name. I just get my friend to buy it for me." she didn't feel like this was the best small talk, but mentally dismissed the concerns. Janine seemed happy enough as she drank her first drink in silence, and handed Green her cup with a smile. Green filled hers up, and Janine took it graciously. Green estimated the girl to be around 15.

"Well, thank you. It really takes the edge off." Janine looked around. "Hey, would you like to come have a smoke with me?" she asked Green, flashing her teeth in a smile.

Green considered for a few moments, and nodded. She reached into her bag, pulled out a small notepad, and scribbled a note about stepping out for a few moments. Bringing the rest of the bottle, the two left the building.

Once outside, Janine brought them around to the back of the Pokemon Center, and up a rocky outcrop so they could easily leap to the roof. Once there, the two sat against the rim of the roof, and Janine pulled two cigars out of the front of her shirt. She also produced a lighter, and lit hers before passing it off to Green.

Green had never smoked a cigar, but Rudolph had a few times in his years. Though the first few puffs made her mouth dry up, it didn't make her gag. Once the thing had a good cherry going, Green turned to Janine. "So. What made you walk up to me in there anyhow?"

Janine studied the end of her cigar as she took the bottle from Green's fingers and drank from it slowly. "You were the only person who looked interesting in the place."

"And the only one with alcohol?" Green asked sarcastically.

Janine giggled. Green noticed she had a nice laugh, and as she took a drink noticed she had a nice body too. Underneath those loose black clothes was a taut and slim young girl, with nice breasts. "Well, it didn't hurt that you had this. I was talking about you being an interesting trainer." Janine grinned at Green. "I've been following you since Pewter City and you're pretty good. Your friend's alright, but you can tell her inspiration comes from you."

Green wanted to be flattered, but one point stood out in the story. "Wait, what do you mean you've been following us since Pewter?!"

Janine held up her hands defensively, the cigar held between two fingers. "Now hold on. I was there to battle Brock, same as you. When I saw the guy before me win, he told Brock he had to get stronger to bear her." Janine took a puff and looked back to the sky. "I was curious who 'her' was."

Green thought about this for a minute. "Kid with a Wartortle?"

Janine nodded. "That's the one. Intense guy. Never smiled once. Seemed like he has quite a grudge against you."

Green snorted. "**** him, he's small potatoes."

Janine laughed, and passed Green the bottle, who took a long pull. Green sat looking at her cigar a moment before Janine spoke up. "I stole them from my old man."

Green turned her head to look at Janine, who was smiling back. "From your dad? Won't he notice? And why cigars, you don't really seem like the cigar type? The drinking I can write off. Everyone drinks."

Janine shook her head. "I doubt it, he hardly ever has a cigar anymore. They were a gift from an old friend of his." She puffed the thing a few times appreciatively. "I kind of started smoking them at first because he didn't want me to so much, but then I just kinda kept doing it because they were good cigars and someone should. My dad never has a cigar anymore. They're in an old box he got as a gift from a friend of his. He wouldn't notice if half the box went missing."

"But even if he would notice you wouldn't care, huh?" Green asked seriously.

"That's right." Janine scowled. "You know, my dad says I'm not good enough to follow in his footsteps. He's always been saying that because I'm not a boy. I'm gonna show him though. My aunt Aya is a lot worse at battling than me, but he still won't even consider me as a successor. That's why I'm trying to complete the league challenge."

Green smoked her cigar slowly. Once the bottle was done and the cigars were nearing the bottom, the two of them pitched the stubs into the darkness of the rooftop. Janine got up and stretched, popping her back audibly. "Well, I guess we'd better go back to your friend."

Green smiled up at Janine. "I think your dad was crazy for not seeing something special in you." she got up and dusted off her pants.

The black-clad girl blushed, and smiled as she looked away. "That's very kind of you for saying."

Green got up, the alcohol spurring her to a speech. "Seriously, if he's thinking of not considering you just because you're a girl, then screw him. You sound like you're determined, and " Green thought the whole speech was a bit ********, because after all she'd never even seen Janine battle. The name didn't even ring a bell in her mind, but it did make her think of the Safari Zone for some strange reason. Green also hoped Janine didn't catch the comment about 'this place.'

The two of them went to the edge of the roof to leave, when a sudden noise from the mountain caught both of their attention. It sounded like a dull explosion, but one silenced by a lot of earth. From the mountain there was a flash of brilliant light, and they could see and hear rock pieces showering into the forest. It was over with so suddenly that Green doubted for a moment it even happened, though the rock dust floating in the air all around the mountain like a cloud put to rest any doubts.

"Um, some Team Rocket guy said there would be something happening at the mountain." Green said in a surprisingly casual tone.

With a look, both girls rushed down to the ground, climbing swiftly over the rocky cliff side along the building. When they reached the ground they rushed inside, each running for their packs. All around the room there were people who were either going back to bed, looking around for the source of the noise, or getting dressed and packing their things.

Green reached her pack and saw Marta, who was thankfully awake and petting her Bayleef as Munchlax snoozed next to her. She looked up as Green neared, and smiled. "Oh, hey! What's wrong? That sound scare you too? It scared Bayleef, didn't it?"

Green shook her head wildly. "No, no, we need to go. I have a bad feeling. Remember what that Team Rocket guy said?"

Marta smiled at her in a confused sort of way. "No."

Green stared back. Marta was swaying a bit on the spot, and looked happy. Dammit. "Look, Team Rocket just set off a bomb or something, and we're gonna go into Mt. Moon tonight it looks like. We need to go! It may be important!"

Marta focused at once, or more accurately got serious if not sober. "Oh. I'll get ready right away then." Marta tried to pull herself together, packing things away with a slow deliberate hand that made Green regret giving her so much alcohol. At least Munchlax had finished off most of her second drink, so there was at least that.

Janine walked up to the pair of them, the pack slung across her back secured with two straps so it wouldn't move around much and interfere with movement. Something about her really nagged at something in Green, but it still turned up just the confusing image of the Safari Zone. "Excuse me, but are you two ready to go? We should probably get going quick if we want to see what happened."

Green nodded, and walked to the concessions bar to get more sandwiches for the road. She came back and offered one to Marta, who accepted gratefully. "Thanks, Green!"

"Green?" came a voice from across the room. In one of the tents, next to what she had assumed was part of a larger group, Red poked his head out. He had hair sticking up everywhere, as if he'd just woken up. "Hey, Green! Good to see you! What's been going on?"

Green silently cursed. He hated Red's perky attitude. "Hey, Red. Explosion at the mountain."

Red got up, ramming his hat on his head. "Oh no! Are the Pokemon in danger?"

"Probably."

"Oh no!"

Green sighed at Red's earnest expression. There was no way he could turn down Red, especially because he could be useful. "Fine, let's just go."

Red grinned and packed his things up as fast as he could.

While they waited, Green went up to Nurse Joy and explained what she thought was happening, and saying that if she wanted to call the authorities it may be the thing to do in this case. By the time she had gotten back to the group, everyone was ready to go. Everyone followed Green as she left the Pokemon Center and began walking up to the mountain. A soft rain of dust was still falling all about, but as they entered through the cave mouth, the air got clear and unmoving. There were noises deep in the cave, like indistinct voices mixed with the twanging of water drops.

"Koffing, go!" Janine let a pokeball go, letting loose the floating purple ball. "Flash!" It turned white, and emitted a soft, constant glow that lit the way ahead well. "Let's go. If you're right this could be terrible."

They all headed off into the mountain. There was a noticeable lack of pokemon in the place as they went deeper into the cave, but the sound of voices got louder. Suddenly, the voices stopped, and there was an eerie silence in the halls, save for the sound of feet clattering on stone. Then, a noise like something industrial starting up, and an ear-splitting sound like something trying to bore through stone filled the halls, forcing everyone to stop and clap their hands over their ears. There was a rush overhead, and Green looked up to see Zubats, soaring past towards the exit. The sound must have been confusing them, because they were crashing into each other and the walls in their haste to escape.

One Zubat, battered and hit by all his fellows, fell towards the ground after it crashed head-first into . Green hit it with a pokeball, feeling bad for taking advantage of the situation, but also figuring it was better than letting it crash into the ground. The noise eventually died away, and the sound of the Zubat's screeches died away after a moment. The sound of indistinct voices started up again, and they were close enough now to at least recognize them as being argumentative voices. The four of them continued down the corridor, Green scooping up the pokeball containing her Zubat as she ran.

The next winding corridor opened onto light , and a large hole to the outside of the mountain. It looked like something crashed through the outside of the mountain and crashed inwards, leaving a swath of destruction in its' wake. There were Team Rocket members all over the place, standing around a huge machine with a steaming drill on one end. They all wore masks that covered their mouths, but this seemed to be for the dust floating around more than for a desire to hide their identities. Some wore the hats Green recognized as being the hats Team Rocket wore in the game, and others simply let their hair out. The voices were coming from two Rocket members, each with a gas mask-like device over their faces, yelling and pointing at the drill. Green didn't understand much, but there seemed to be an issue with the drill overheating, and one of the two didn't care about an overheating drill, only about getting into the room past the rock wall. It looked like jumping down would be impossible, because while their corridor looked out upon this scene, it looked upon it from a 30-foot drop.

"Hmm. This isn't very good." Green commented. She looked back to her companions. "Well, we have two choices. We can go down there, or..."

There was a sound like, "Muuuurk!" and there was a voice from below. "Hey, Murkrow sees some people up there! You guys, go after them!"

"Dammit," Green muttered, backing up from the entrance. "Well, alright then. Let's go."

The four of them turned and ran down the corridor, finding a side tunnel they passed earlier and trying a few tunnels in frustrating silence before entering a large, stalagmite-filled room that had a soft orange glow at the opposite end. Before they could go far into the room, the sound of the drill went screaming through the corridors again. This time no Zubats went by, but a Geodude who had been unseen by the door uprooted itself, and rolled away with a pained look on its' face. Eventually the sound died, and a man in a rocket hat poked his head around the corner. "Here they are! Four kids!"

The man came into the room with two other rocket members. These guys all wore the hats and masks across the eyes, and looked for all the world like The Beagle Boys from Ducktails to Rudolph, deep inside Green. This made her giggle, and all three of the Rockets turned to glare at her. "What's so funny? We're gonna crush you little brats and take your Pokemon!"

"Right. Isn't there also more of us?" Green asked casually. "And we do possess large monsters intended for fighting, if you forgot."

The men considered those words as Green threw out a pokeball, releasing Charmeleon. Janine and Red threw out pokeballs as well, releasing a Skorupi and a Pikachu respectively. Green looked to Red with an exasperated look. "Really?" Marta released her Bayleef a few moments later, and took a moment to sit down. Green passed her a water bottle and patted her on the shoulder.

The three Rockets threw out pokeballs as well, releasing a Grimer, Ekans, Croagunk and Poochyena. One of the rockets, who had sent out two pokemon, glared at the others. "I'm the only one with two?!"

"Pikachu, thundershock!" Red sheered, and the rat surged a line of electricity at the Croagunk, making it spasm.

"Skorupi, acupressure Charmeleon!" Janine pointed, and Skorupi whipped its' tail around to stab Charmeleon in the back. Green nearly cried out in alarm, until she realize it had broke the skin, but so minorly a drop of blood didn't even leave the wound. Charmeleon didn't seem to notice, but suddenly his snarls became more intense, as if he'd been injected with adrenaline.

"Charmeleon, Fire Fang!" Green commanded, and Charmeleon zoomed at the just-recovering Croagunk, and put it down with a chomp full of billowing orange flames.

The Grimer and Ekans backed away from the Charmeleon, but the Poocheyena snarled and leapt forward. "Yeah, bite 'em, boy!" one of the rockets encouraged.

Bayleef took the thing out of the air with a flying tackle. Charmeleon turned around to see Bayleef at his back, and smirked.

Green sighed. "Look, not that I don't love these fights but these guys are criminals! Let's just mop up!" She threw out the rest of her Pokemon, and Green's Beedrill, Munchlax, Shroomish, Zubat and Caterpie appeared. "Do whatever moves you guys want at those two pokemon!" Green said, pointing at Ekans and Grimer, who looked very nervous. The five pokemon turned, and bumrushed the other two. Even Caterpie got in closer and reared up to spray sticky stuff at the Ekans as it tried to get away. It was enough to bring a tear to Green's eye.

The Rockets returned their pokemon. "Damn, this isn't good." One said, backing towards the door. "Let's just get the boss!" They all exited out the far side of the room without looking back.

Everyone else looked at Green, who returned all of the pokemon in rapid succession. She looked up and scowled. "Well, it's true. We don't need to waste time on the scrubs. Let's just go."

Following the footsteps and voices, they finally entered the drill room properly. The way that black smoke was rising from the drill, Green guessed it had overheated. All available rocket members were under a large stone overhang where they were apparently safe from what the rest were doing. Suddenly they too ran, and Green could clearly see three Electrodes. They were all flashing violently. She turned to everyone else. "Back down the hall!"

They all made it a few steps before the explosion knocked them to the ground. It didn't quite shake the place like earlier, and the sounds died away in a few seconds, but as they all got up there was a constant rain of dust all around them that turned the room into a choking mess. Green took a shirt from her bag and tied it over her mouth, if only to cut down on dust entering her lungs. Janine simply pulled part of her overlarge shirt's collar over her face, and Green realized as it stayed there like a mask that Janine's shirt was designed to be pulled up that way. Janine looked vaguely sinister this way, the only thing of color showing being her purple hair and wooden shoes. Red and Marta were following Green's example and tying clothes over their mouths.

"Those jerks!" Red said as he got up off the ground, a sweatshirt tied over the lower half of his face. "We need to stop them!" he rushed past Green, an intense expression on his face as he ran right into the the next room. Green mumbled something about idiots, and followed Red down the hall at a run, her two companions on her heels.

Green entered the large room again, and saw a man in a suit being brushed down by two rocket grunts standing out prominently in the middle of the room. A Persian brushed itself against his leg and looked at the other trainers with feline uncaring before going in for more head scratching. The man smiled at Red, and to the rest of the girls in turn. "Ah, the pests. I'm afraid you're too late. We've already blown a path down to the pokemon slumbering up under the mountain. The Zubats and Clefairies were a nice touch..." he motioned a hand to a hopper being loaded full of pokeballs by a couple more rocket grunts and went on. "A couple of new members for my organization would be better though. What do you say? I hear from my associates here how they were positively embarrassed by you four. I would enjoy more competent trainers." he smiled, even as the grunts packing the balls into the hopper paused and glared at their bosses' back.

"We'd never join an organization of criminals like you!" Red shot back at once. He went on, "Anyone who hurts pokemon for their own gains and steals doesn't understand what it means to be a trainer!"

Green rolled her eyes. The man in the suit seemed to catch the movement, and said softly, "You know, the offer will of course be open to you young lady. I've heard of you, believe it or not. Quite the hellfire they say."

Green looked surprised, and glanced up at the man in the suit. He smiled slowly as he pet his Persian gently. Green was about to speak when, from the hole at the side of the mountain, there came the faint noise of sirens. The man scowled. "Damn!" he glanced to one of the grunts brushing him. "Stop these children and help the others down below. I must attend to business."

The grunt saluted, and both grunts got up quickly as they extracted pokeballs from pockets. The man in the suit was already releasing a Claydol as he returned his Persian. He didn't look back as he placed a hand on its' side. The thing teleported away, bringing the man with it.

"You kids are in for a pounding." the first rocket grunt said with a grin. "We're not like those pansies you battled earlier!" He threw out his pokeball, releasing a Golbat.

Green began to take out a pokeball, but Red shook his head at her. "No, you need to save the pokemon they're trying to capture! I'll beat these guys and rescue those others pokemon they captured. They're just gonna sell them if they get away with this." Red threw out a pokeball, and Pikachu came out with a hiss.

The second rocket grunt threw out a pokeball of his own, revealing a Graveler. Red began to pull out his second pokeball when Marta sent out Bayleef.

Marta smiled at Green. "I don't think I'll be much help if I have to jump down a lot." she said in a weak little voice.

Green felt horrible. "I'm sorry for... helping you forget and stuff." she mumbled, feeling like it was a stupid apology in the circumstance for getting Marta sloshed. Marta looked pale, and about to puke.

Marta took a deep breath. "At least it worked, right?" she smiled, and turned back to the battle, which had already been joined between Pikachu and Golbat. Graveler started at Pikachu, but Bayleef suddenly shot out a vine whip, restraining the thing.

Green glanced to Janine, who nodded back. The two dashed for the hole in the corner of the room, where a blackened ring outlined a quickly darkening rock slope. Green reached it first, and started carefully down the rocks, choosing footholds carefully. Janine came down past her, easily hopping from rock to rock as Koffing floated along behind, glowing softly to illuminate the darkness. Green grumbled and tried to speed up.

Once they both reached the bottom, they could see that this room has strange, bump-like markings all over the wall. They seemed to start from the left of the room, which had a mural of three statue-like figures, and went all the way to the right of the room, which faded into blackness. There were faint noises down that corridor, however, and Green thought she could hear battling noises.

Janine looked the mural up and down in fascination. "Wow, this is amazing! Look at these paintings, they must be hundreds of..."

"Look, we can talk about this in a bit! Come on!" Green said as she ran off down the passage. The sounds of fighting were coming more and more in focus, and as Green turned the corner, she saw a large, domed cavern. There was indeed a battle going on, between three Team Rocket members, and what was undoubtedly a Regirock. It was fighting an Arbok, a Seviper, and a Drowzee, and the triple assault was making the thing groan like a rock slide. Drowzee was constantly humming, and channeling what looked like soundwaves into Regirock. It was making Regirock slow and woozy, and the huge punches it threw at the two huge snakes were easily dodged. Regirock was getting pummeled by the two snakes, even though it looked as if they were mostly chipping at it.

"Charmeleon, go!" Green yelled, releasing the lizard with a quick throw. "Fire fang that Arbok!" Charmeleon appeared in a rush of red light, and it pounded into the room, past one of the Rocket members with a shock of white hair and leapt at Arbok, snarling. Arbok looked up in panic as Charmeleon bore down on it, biting into its' side with a mouth full of fire.

"Dammit, we have company!" the rocket member with the white hair shouted, pulling out a pokeball. "Go, Mightyena!" he called, throwing the pokeball so it landed between the battle against Regirock. The large dog pokemon appeared, snarling at Green menacingly.

Janine rounded the corner, and threw a pokeball out. "Nidorina!" it appeared between Green and Mightyena, growling at the larger dog. They leapt at each other and began rolling on the ground, biting at each other.

The other two rocket members, one a girl with blue hair and the other a muscular guy with long blond hair, looked over and scowled at the further interruption. The girl flipped hair out of her face. "Gutman! We need to deal with those damn kids!" she yeled at the muscular guy, who looked annoyed at being treated like an idiot.

"I know that Cairo! Dammit!" Yelled the large man as he whipped out a pokeball along with the girl. "Makuhita!"

"Sneasel!" The girl aparrently named Cairo said gleefully.

The two Rocket pokemon appeared in front of Green, who frowned. She pulled out another pokeball to send out Munchlax, while Janine threw out her Skorupi. The Pokemon began scrapping, but while Munchlax and Skorupi were holding their own against the other unevolved pokemon, Nidorina was being outclassed a bit by Mightyena. With a bite, it champed down heavily on Nidorina's left side. Nidorina squealed in pain, and Green hurled out Shroomish desperately. "Shroomish, help Nidorina!"

Leaving the battle behind as the other pokemon kept busy, Green rushed up into the room to check on Charmeleon. It looked hurt, and while it looked hurt, so did the two snakes he was fighting against. Regirock also seemed to realize that Charmeleon was on his side, because even as she watched, Regirock stopped short of hitting Charmeleon, preferring to wait for a blow at Seviper, who still dodged the clumsy drowsy pokemon. Green pulled out the pokeball for Beedrill, her last dependable pokemon here. "Beedrill, go! Twinneedle that Drowzee!" Beedrill appeared and zoomed across the clearing at Drowzee, who was so engrossed in keeping the Regirock tired that it didn't even look up as Beedrill rammed right into it.

The moment the Regirock had full control of its' actions, it snarled in rage and swung a fist at Seviper. Seviper was caught off guard, and went crashing across the room. Regirock then picked up a rock, and threw it at the prone snake, who jerked under the blow. Cairo returned her pokemon with a grunt.

"Arbok, Glare!" Gutman commanded, and Arbok stared at Regirock with sharp, piercing eyes. Regirock paused inches from it, staring back at it with its' strange multiple eyes. The two stayed motionless, glaring at each other. Charmander leapt at Arbok then, bringing it down with a white stream of flame. Gutman roared in anger. "Cook, I think we're done for!"

The rocket with the white hair scowled. "Fine..." he threw another pokeball. "Horsea! Smokescreen!" Green barely saw the little blue pokemon for only a second before smoke filled the small contained space. There were the sounds of footsteps in the dark, and Green felt someone shove past her.

"Zubat, try to blow this away!" Green coughed out, releasing the bat, who flapped as hard as it could. It seemed to only be moving the smoke around for new smoke at first, but soon the air began to clear, and Green could make out the form of Zubat beating its' wings. There enemies and their pokemon had disappeared, leaving only their own pokemon and the Regirock, who was still glaring at the place Arbok had been. There was a few minutes silence as Green considered the thing, then realized it was staying still because Arbok had used glare. It was paralyzed!

Green slowly reached into her bag and pulled out a Dusk Ball. As Janine and Charmeleon watched, she casually tossed the ball at the thing. It bounced off its' head, and the Regirock got sucked into the ball. It shook a few moments before the light dimmed.

Janine looked a bit angry. "Wha... you captured it!"

Green looked surprised as the ball disappeared, and looked Janine in the eye. "Yeah, so?"

Janine frowned. "Well, we did just save it you know."

Green shrugged. "Look, Team Rocket knows where it was now. Do you think if they tried this hard they wouldn't try again to get it?"

Janine frowned, and pondered it. "Well... you do have a point there. Fine, I see your point."

"Hey, is there anyone down there?!" a voice yelled down the hole, barely audible down the passage.

"Yeah! We're coming out!" Green yelled back, and began to walk back down the corridor. She looked to Janine. "By the way, you were a lifesaver back there. I'm glad I had you backing me up." she said, peeling off her makeshift facemask.

Janine blushed in the limited light as she pulled down her mask. "Thank you. You were the amazing one though. You're very confident in battle."

Green smiled back as they reached the rock slide. Up above, men with lights on their helmets looked down into the hole. They had the look of officials. "You two ok?!" the man up top yelled down.

"Fine. We're coming right up!" Green yelled up as they scrambled up the rocks.

Once up in the large room, Green could see the room had at least ten people in official looking police outfits, lights pinned to hats in the dark. The drill machine still sat in the middle of the room, and two rocket grunts were now handcuffed next to the hopper of pokeballs, but the three rocket members assaulting Regirock were gone. Red was talking to one of the officers very excitedly, while Marta sat on the ground nearby, dozing against a rock with the blanket around her shoulders.

"Thankfully you trainers were nearby." said a familiar voice, and Green turned to see Officer Jenny. Green smiled as the officer walked up to the two of them. "What was Team Rocket after anyhow?"

Green shrugged. "Beats me. Some ruins are down there, maybe whatever it was is in there."

Jenny nodded to two officers, who nodded back and started down the hole. "Well, I have to thank you for your help. I've arranged a guide that will bring you kids the swiftest way to Cerulean City. There, I've arranged for some nice rooms at the local motel. We can't thank you enough for saving the Pokemon here."

The two of them walked towards Red, who looked excited. "Green! We did it! We held them off! We saved the pokemon!"

Green smiled at Red as she sat down heavily on the ground next to Marta. Janine plopped down on Green's other side, looking just as weary. Green leaned her head against Janine's shoulder with a sigh, and even as she told herself she should wait for the guide, she fell herself falling into a slow sleep.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Act 3

Chapter 9-Training

Green slowly awoke, and instead of the caverns of Mt. Moon, she instead saw the walls of a nicely furnished hotel room. She had been laid down on top of the covers, with a thin blanket thrown over her fully clothed form. Charmeleon was sleeping next to her on the floor, flaming tail careful as always not to touch anything as it swished back and forth. She got slowly out of bed and looked around the room. It was small, but in the closet there was another washer/dryer, and another door led into a bathroom with a shower. With a sigh of relief she stripped, shoved the clothes in for a wash, and slumped into the steaming hot water. She sighed, and methodically washed her hair with a whole tiny bottle of shampoo to get out as much rock dust as possible. After a good long soak, she felt like she had woken up a second time.

She took her time getting dressed in the semi-light of dawn, leaving the pants off for the time being. The view overlooked what must have been Cerulean City, because she could clearly see a bridge spanning over a body of water in one direction, and a large building with high windows that must have been the Gym. Unlike the other two Gyms, this one was quite obviously brightly lit even from here. The front doors were open to the streets as well, and people were clearly strolling in and out as they pleased.

Green opened her pouch, a bit timidly. Thankfully the second bottle of vodka was uncracked, and she poured herself a mixed drink with a can of fruit cocktail in a bowl, making what she figured was like a power breakfast.

Having a buzz on and with her stomach full, Green finally pulled on some pants and grabbed her pouch. "Charmeleon, let's go! I wanna go for a walk around town!" she said jovially, opening the door for Charmeleon as she left. The two left the hotel, not seeing anyone else from the group the night before.

As she got breakfast Green flipped open her pokedex, and flipped to the entry on Regirock. Sure enough, there it was, amidst blank entries as far as the eye could see. That was unexpected. Part of her figured she hadn't really captured it, or that something would keep her from owning the pokemon in some way. True, she didn't have the pokemon with her yet, it was in storage, but she as good as had it.

Even as she was deciding to walk down to the pokemon center, the open Gym doors made her veer in their direction. She decided to just go in and scope out the competition for a few minutes before she headed back to wait for everyone else to awaken.

Going inside, Green could see why people were filing inside and outside all the time. This place was a Gym, but it also looked part arena of sorts. Seats lined the left and right walls, and people were filling out the stands slowly. In the large center pool, which had large pads floating on top of the water supposedly to help Pokemon keep their footing here, there was a young girl with blue hair putting a Seaking and two Goldeens through a series of jumps and tricks.

"Hey loser, I knew I'd find you here. They say this is a real chick gym. Figured it would call to you even though you've given the whole 'girl' thing up." said an all-too familiar voice behind Green, nearly overflowing with self-confidence.

Green turned around. "Screw you, Blue. If you want a rematch, just say so." she said, trying to sound casual as she faced her smirking rival. In truth, she was a bit alarmed to see Blue here. She didn't even have her new trump card with her, and she wasn't sure if her pokemon were technically in tip-top shape after last night. She got a hold of herself, however. Charmeleon looked bright and alert as it watched Blue's movements, and she smiled down at it. So far Charmeleon had been a veritable juggernaut. Perhaps it would help squeeze out another win. "You got a place?"

Blue laughed, and cocked his head towards the door. "There's a field behind the Gym. I checked." he left without another word, dodging nimbly out of the way of passers-by.

Green turned and looked longingly into the gym. Three girls were standing op a high diving board, speaking indistinctly to the crowd who cheered in response. She had just been about to take a stab at the competition. She followed after Blue dejectedly.

The two of them wound up at the field, which was bare and also devoid of people. Blue walked casually to one end, taking out a pokeball as he did so. "So. Why don't we double it up this time? 4-on-4, how about that? You DO have four pokemon now, right?"

Green ground her teeth. This guy annoyed her, even if he was there just TO annoy her. "Yes, as a matter of fact. Let's just do this." Green pulled out a pokeball, and began turning it in her hands slowly, eagerly.

Blue extracted a pokeball as well, and tossed it casually. "Staravia." The red light coalesced into the bird pokemon, who hovered in mid-air looking much more menacing than its' pre-evolution.

"Munchlax!" Green yelled as the fat little pokemon appeared, looking around excitedly for what Green figured was his morning drink. "Hey, time to battle! Don't crap out on me now!" Munchlax looked surprised, then serious as it eyed up the bird. "Screech!" Munchlax sucked in a breath, and bellowed such an intense, high-pitched noise at the Staravia that it nearly knocked it out the air.

"Wing attack!" Blue commanded, and the Staravia whipped down at Munchlax, bashing it with a wing and knocking it off its' feet. The thing whipped around and came back, obviously intent for another round.

Munchlax got up slowly and glared at the Staravia. It tensed itself, and sprang at the bird as it came in for a second pass. The two collided in mid-air, and Staravia hit the ground even as Munchlax landed on his feet, smug as could be..

"Quick attack!" Staravia suddenly pulled itself upright, and blurred as it moved faster than the eye could see. Munchlax was assaulted by the bird as it blurred by, smacking the fat pokemon with blow after blow.

Green got ready to give an order, but Munchlax suddenly tensed, and jumped in the air. Green saw a blur that was Staravia waver for a moment, and once Munchlax hit the ground, it sprang at the momentarily slowed Staravia, and took it down with another mid-air collision. It looked pleased with itself as it got off Staravia, and this time the bird Pokemon didn't move.

Blue grinned as he returned Staravia. "I didn't expect to beat that Munchlax right away. It's a tough little thing. Larvitar." he said as he released the rock pokemon, who glared at Munchlax. "Sandstorm." A cloud of stinging sand sprang up around the little thing, and Munchlax held up an arm to shield its' eyes from the stinging sand.

"Screech, Munchlax!" Green said over the whipping of the localized sandstorm, and Munchlax's piercing wail actually slowed the sandstorm for a moment as Larvitar clapped its' hands over its ears.

"Rock Slide, Larvitar!" Blue ordered. Larvitar clapped both hands on the ground, and rocks burst from the ground to make what looked like a wave of earth. Munchlax was caught in the updraft, and swept along until it crashed into the ground near Green's feet. Munchlax didn't get up, so Green returned it with a frown.

Charmeleon looked ready to fight, but Green held a hand in front of it. "Not yet." Green said through her clenched teeth. She pulled out another pokeball, and wordlessly let Shroomish out and into the sandstorm. The little thing closed its' eyes in the stinging sand, and made a little mewling noise.

"Rock Slide!" Blue ordered again, and the Larvitar pounded the ground again. the slide of rocks barely missed Shroomish, who ran away in alarm.

"Leech seed!" Green suggested, and Shroomish stopped running for a moment to flip a large seed at the Larvitar. It hit the thing on the chest, and it sprouted at once into long, spindly roots shot out to cover the little pokemon. A thin line of green energy noticeably flowed from Larvitar to Shroomish, barely visible through the whipping sands.

"Thrash!" Larvitar jumped at the word, and brought Shroomish down with flailing punches and kicks. It continued to hit the mushroom pokemon repeatedly, but it began to slow down, and unexpectedly fell backwards and began snoring. Blue frowned in confusion.

"Ha! Effect spore! Shroomish, mega drain!" Green said gleefully, and Shroomish sat up as the green stream suddenly became a torrent. The sleeping Larvitar, seed pulsating eerily on its' chest, moaned.

Blue returned his second pokemon with a sneer. "Fine. It's time I show you my new pokemon anyhow. Scyther!" he said with a grin as he released the flying mantis. It hovered there in mid-air, brandishing its' two bladed arms at Shroomish menacingly. "Wing attack!" The bug whipped towards the smaller pokemon, and before Green could react Shroomish was flying back as Scyther smashed it with a glowing set of wings.

Green blanched a bit as she returned the unmoving Shroomish. That wasn't good. If she had Regirock she knew it would just be a single attack to defeat this bug, but now she was down to two pokemon, and while she wanted to save Charmeleon until the end, it would certainly do more damage here than against Wartortle. "Let's go Charmeleon." It grunted and moved slowly into the arena, eyeing the flying bug warily.

"Quick attack!" Blue commanded at once, and Scyther lunged at once to deliver a series of lightning-quick slashes and cuts. Charmeleon roared in pain.

"Fire fang!" Charmeleon opened his flaming mouth and lunged, grabbing Scyther as it tried to make another pass. The Scyther let out a loud cry of pain, and had to slash viciously at Charmeleon's nose to get it to let go.

"Vacuum Wave!" Scyther turned on the spot, and with both blades slashed viciously downwards, sending out a wave of nearly invisible energy. It hit Charmeleon and cut a gash across its' midsection, making it roar in pain.

"Dragon rage!" Green yelled in annoyance, mostly directed at the Scyther. It was a lot tougher than she had been expecting. Charmeleon concentrated for a moment, and hit his opponent with a white-hot stream of fire that drove Scyther out of the air and to the ground.

Scyther was returned with a flip of the hand by Blue. He smiled. "You never battled Squirtle, did you? Well, I suppose you technically never will." He threw out his fourth pokeball with a casual hand, letting out an incredibly confident Wartortle.

"Dragon rage!" Green commanded again, wanting to put as much hurt on Wartortle as quick as possible. Charmeleon spewed out another stream of white hot fire, and the smirk quickly fell of Wartortle's face as the flame whipped across its' chest.

"Water pulse." Blue said nonchalantly. Wartortle held out its' hands, forming a ball of swirling water that it send spinning at Charmelon with a flick of the tail. It bounced off the ground once, staying intact as it hit a recovering Charmeleon head-on. It must have been like getting hit with a fist made of water, and it actually lifted the lizard off the ground and carried it a foot before it went crashing to the ground. "And then there was one."

Green returned Charmeleon with a scowl. This whole damn battle was annoying, but at least she was ahead of the game. "Beedrill!"

The two pokemon squared up for a moment, and Green heard a cheer that made her look around. There was a fair sized crowd of about twenty people all around, and Green had a moment to wonder how she had missed these people coming up to watch. She had a bit of a tendency to get absorbed in these matches.

"Fury Attack!" shouted Green just as Blue yelled "Rock Tomb!" Beedrill zoomed in, spikes glinting as it closed the distance. Wartortle just stood there for a moment, and Green was sure Beedrill would attack first. Wartortle slammed its' hands on the ground however, and a pillar of rock shot up under Beedrill, knocking it out of the air with a thud. Beedrill got slowly up off the ground, and its' wings came weakly back to life, lifting itself slowly off the ground.

"Twinneedle!" Green encouraged, feeling worried as Beedrill closed the distance. It jabbed twice with vicious pokes, but the Wartortle only glared furiously back.

"Water pule." Wartortle needed no more encouragement to summon another ball of water, and using it smashed Beedrill away. Beedrill hit the ground once after a brief flight through the air, and collapsed into a vaguely buzzing wet lump. Blue smiled down at Wartortle, who looked quite pleased with itself as it gazed admiringly up as its' trainer. "Good job, Wartortle." he returned the pokemon amongst cheers from the crowd that had gathered, and smirked to Green. "Well. I suppose next time we'll both have six. Maybe you should go train a bit. You don't want to embarrass yourself in the Gym, do you?"

Green glared at Blue as she returned her Beedrill. "Next time you just better have six pokemon ready then." Green promised as she turned and marched away. Some of the people tried to soothe her with words, but she pushed past them all and headed for the Pokemon Center, even as she heard the rest of the She was angry. Furious, really. She had lost, but only because that... ******* had just snuck up out of nowhere! There had to be some sort of rule against challenging people in gyms. Well, besides the leaders obviously.

Pushing through the open front doors of the Pokemon Center, Green wordlessly handed over her pokeballs once she reached the front counter. She walked up to the concessions table, grabbing two sandwiches, a rice ball and a drink before sitting down. She'd lost for the first time. She slowly ate the first sandwich, which turned out to be peanut butter and jelly, as she thought dully of how weird it was to have rice balls alongside sandwiches. As she drank the milk she'd picked up, she considered how much she wanted a real drink.

Green barely noticed as the Chansey dropped off her pokeballs, and only retrieved them as she finished off the rice ball and stowed the second sandwich in her bag, wrapped in a hand towel. She snatched a bottle of juice to use as a mixer and put it in her pocket as she strolled to the large blue computer in the corner. Still feeling angry with herself, she accessed the pokemon storage system, inserted her pokeball containing Caterpie and sent it off. As she began to access the withdraw feature, a small sub-screen appeared in the corner of the screen. Professor Oak's face appeared, and he looked urgent.

"Oh, hello Professor." Green said as she chose Regirock, and withdrew it with a couple taps of the screen. "How's tricks?"

"Green, did you capture this Regirock?" Professor Oak asked, a note of alarm entering his question.

"Yeah." Green said simply, also depositing Zubat after a moment's indecision. "In Mt. Moon. Why?"

"Well..." Oak seemed upset for a moment that Green didn't find this as fascinating as him. "Well, it means that there are more than one set of these legendary golems! This is an astounding development!"

"Sure is." Green said, nodding vaguely. "Well, I'll be sure to be on the lookout for the other two. I think Team Rocket's after them."

Oak looked shocked. "So, that's why Team Rocket made such a bold move! This is distressing indeed. It's possible that they were just after a confirmed location of a legendary pokemon. Either way, I'm going to do some research. There could be clues as to the whereabouts of the other two. Be on the lookout during your travels for any more clues! If the moment comes down to a decision between you or Team Rocket capturing a pokemon, you must do it! There could be terrible consequences should they get a hold of even one, let alone all three."

"Capture them if I can. Got it."

Oak looked the dejected Green up and down as she stowed away her pokeballs. "I can't help noticing you seem preoccupied. Is something the matter?"

Green looked up at the screen. There was a moment there where Green considered just talking, fast and without thinking, like Marta had done before Mt. Moon. Talking about everything from her first lost battle all the way to her sudden strange gender confusion. In that moment, she felt sure that he'd have some advice to make it all better.

"Excuse me, are your eyes red?" Oak asked, squinting through the screen to hers.

Green snapped out of whatever small internal fit she'd had. "No, and nothing's the matter Professor. Say hello to Blue for me. Goodbye." she said, closing the connection even as Oak smiled back and gave a half "Goodb-"

Green turned from the PC and walked out of the pokemon center. After some internal struggle, where she moved her eyes from Mt. Moon to the hotel over and over, she finally relented and walked back towards the hotel. Part of her felt like getting out there and training right now.

Once inside the hotel, she didn't have to go far until she found Marta and Janine. Both were wearing fresh clothes, Janine still dressed in a nearly all-black outfit while Marta wore a red, sleeveless blouse and a pair of brown pants. They both smiled as they recognized Green.

"Hey, how are you feeling Green?" Marta asked, standing up and walking over to Green to make sure she was really alright.

Green smiled back. "Hey I'm fine. I was more worried about you! You looked about ready to throw up back there."

Looking embarrassed, Marta then glanced towards the floor. "Well. I did once. But I waited until after we fought those Rockets."

Green patted her on the shoulder. "You were great back there. I'm glad to have you on my side." Green smiled at Marta, who blushed heavily and smiled wordlessly in response. Green turned to Janine, who was standing and watching the exchange with mock boredom. "Thank you too Janine. You came and helped us out without any reason to. I'm in your debt."

Janine smiled in response. "Let's just call us even for me stalking you from Pewter then. Plus, we stopped Team Rocket. Those guys would have just taken that big pokemon and sold it anyhow."

"Big pokemon? The largest pokemon of those that they released was a Golbat." Marta, who had been smiling, suddenly frowned.

Green was impressed. Marta had picked out that one detail from Janine's story so easily. "Well... we think they were after a different one."

Marta looked shocked. "What were they after then?"

Rather than try and explain, Green opened her pokedex, opened it to the Regirock entry and handed it over. Marta read somberly for a minute.

"Wow. Congratulations, Green!" Marta said, looking excited for her as she handed the computer back. "I never even thought I'd see a legendary pokemon in my lifetime!"

Green accepted her pokedex back. "Yes, well. It's a duty I don't take lightly. Um, maybe we should keep quieter on the whole... legendary pokemon thing." Green murmured, glancing around and the gratefully empty lobby.

"Well, Marta and I just had breakfast. Marta, didn't you want to go and take another shower this morning?" Janine asked sweetly to the older girl.

Marta thought about it for a moment. "Well, I guess you're right. In all the commotion I just washed my hair last night and went to bed. I'll be back in a few minutes then!" Marta got up, grabbed her bag, and headed up the stairs to her room.

They both watched her go, and Janine grinned at Green. "Hey, how about a morning drink? You still look quite out of it."

Green nodded glumly, and Janine jerked her head. "Let's go to my room. We have another night on these rooms, by the way. Officer Jenny helped us out a lot."

"Where's Red anyhow?" Green asked as they went into Janine's room, where there was still her pouch flopped down in the corner chair. She took out the juice from earlier and the bottle of vodka, and mixed a pair of drinks using two mugs she found on the desk.

"Your friend was really active last night, and once we got here he wanted to challenge the Gym Leader right away. Of course it was 2 AM by then, but he still had to go check it out. I went to sleep before he came back. Probably sleeping in his room now." Janine said offhandedly as she took her cup, slid into a chair, and sipped it with a sigh. "You were quite inspiring last night. You really seemed determined to stop Team Rocket."

Green nodded. There was a moment's silence, and Janine carefully watched her face during the shared silence. "Is there something the matter, Green?"

Green looked Janine in the eye. "I got beat for my first time just this morning. I went out because I thought I could just beat the gym while you guys were asleep, but then I got challenged by my old rival from back home. It was kinda close, but I lost all the same. I know I shouldn't beat myself up so much for it, but I sorta can't help it." she said in a rush, then looked back down and finished her drink without meeting Janine's eye again. What she didn't say was that she knew she'd never lost a rival battle when she was Rudolph. A couple of the Gym battles yes, but never a rival battle. This was like a slap to the ego.

There was another moment of silence between the two. Green felt fingers brush hers, and then Janine was holding her hand and squeezing it softly. "You're so pessimistic. One loss shouldn't be anything to get upset about. He was a tough trainer, I saw his match against Brock. He only used one pokemon, and it wasn't even close. You should be happy you have a rival like that. The next time you meet I bet you're going to blow him away. Besides, I'll bet you didn't even use your new catch. Imagine how he'd have looked then?"

Green looked up and smiled at Janine. The two held hands in silence for a moment until Green looked down at their clasped hands. Janine began to disengage the hold, but Green plucked her hand out of mid-air and squeezed back. Their eyes met, and there was an intense moment in the room. Before Green could think to do or say anything, a pokeball in her bag opened up and let out Munchlax, who grabbed Janine's drink out of her unresisting hand. The loud slurp as he drank from the cup broke whatever spell had been there, and the two released hands at once.

"Munchlax." Green said in a neutral way, like someone acknowledging a business associate in the hall. Munchlax looked confused at the icy tone in her voice, and didn't ask for a second drink right away, but instead took the one he had pilfered to the side of the room. She pulled her eyes to Janine's, who looked a bit pink in the face. "Um, another drink?"

"Sure." Janine said in an overly cheerful voice. The two were silent as another drink was poured all around.

Munchlax opened the door for Marta when she came knocking. Green and Janine were sitting on the bed together, exchanging small-talk in low voices. They both looked up and smiled at Marta, who for a moment felt strangely like a third wheel as she sat down. "Well, I'm done my shower. What are we going to do now?"

Green put down her mug and got up. "Well, for one I think we should go and train a bit before we go to the Gym here." She said the next sentence casually, without thinking. "Maybe we should go up north past the bridge and see Bill."

Marta and Janine exchanged a glance. "Who's Bill?" Janine asked curiously.

Green opened her mouth, hesitated, and shut it slowly. Who WAS Bill? She had just said it offhandedly, but now she just couldn't recall. There was once again that odd feeling of blankness in her head that made it throb. She put a hand to her head and tried to think harder. There was just that dull nothing, and the pain of trying to remember more was making her wince noticeably. "Um, nobody. Let's go."

Marta frowned. "You looked like you had a bad headache for a moment. Are you alright?"

There was a moment where Green just considered lying so they could just get out there and train, but looking into Marta and Janine's worried expressions killed the lie. She looked at the ground. "I think I may have lost some memory. I can't remember a lot of stuff. It's like a hole in my head where there stuff I'm supposed to know is supposed to be."

There was a moment as this information was digested. "So, it's like someone took memories out of your head or something?" Janine asked slowly, and without skepticism.

Green nodded. At that phrase 'took memories out of your head' she had a sudden flash of when she had captured Totodile. What had happened after she'd caught him? "That would be accurate I suppose."

She had expected them to scoff, tell her that her mind was playing tricks on her or maybe even just laugh at the notion. Instead, both exchanged a glance and spent a moment in serious thought. "Well, a psychic of some sort is who you'd probably want to see." said Janine in an offhanded way.

Marta nodded in agreement. "Sure. Sabrina, the Gym Leader in Saffron, is the only psychic I know of. There must be others of course."

There was a moment as Green stared back at them. The answer was so obvious now that it was out there. She'd been stupid not to remember such an obvious fact about a Gym Leader. Thinking about Gym Leaders made her think about Janine again, but she put that thought aside. This psychic thing was a good idea. "Hey, yeah! I can't believe I didn't think about that!" she got up, and felt suddenly like Red. "Well, it's looks like we're gonna have to go out training now then. We've got to get to Saffron City as soon as possible!"

Marta nodded happily at Green's regained spirits. "Of course! There's a bridge that leads north out of town. We could go down the trail on the other side. I hear they have wild pokemon up there."

Green gathered her pouch, in the best mood she'd been in all day. Though the morning had been full of disappointment, things were looking up.

The three of them ended up considering bringing Red along, but the light snoring barely heard through the door discouraged them. They left a note explaining they'd be back later on that night, and soon they were off across the bridge. For some reason Green expected to be challenged while on the bridge, but while a few people ambled past none seemed interested in a battle.

Once they got to the other side, there was a long, rocky wooded trail that extended east practically as far as the eye could see. Near the end, barely visible on a hill, was some sort of building. A shimmer of water could be seen even from here, near the establishment.

"Well." Janine said with a curiously neutral face. "That must be Bill's house."

Green brushed past Janine without comment. She didn't like being made fun of.

The path was cool and easygoing as they made their way along the winding semi-trail through the land, worn by foot tread alone. There were a few sparse trainers, mostly packless people that looked as if they had either biked this way or simply come here on foot, but none ended up posing much of a challenge. Green mostly used Munchlax, while Marta and Janine fought with Heracross and Nidorina respectively. They ran across a Bellsprout, but Green had no problem letting Marta capture it as she scanned for more wild pokemon.

Green's wait turned out to be worth it. There was a large bush with plump red berries, and a small pokemon with what looked like a large, green helmet on its' head, with a red horn poking from the top. She grinned and threw a pokeball before her companions, both trailing behind, could react. "Munchlax! Lick!"

Munchlax appeared behind the wild pokemon, who whirled on the spot in surprise at the sound of his appearance. Before it could react, Munchlax let its' tongue out, and dragged it slowly across the smaller pokemon's face with a look of almost gleeful satisfaction. The other pokemon shuddered, possibly just out of the pure revulsion of the moment, and just stood there for a moment. Green's pokeball hit it on the head, and it was swallowed up into red light. It stopped shaking after a few moments, and Green basked in the triumph of the moment.

"Wow, what did you catch?" Marta asked as she stopped alongside Green, who was bending to pick up the pokeball.

"Ralts." Green said with satisfaction as she let the newest addition to her team out. The small helmed pokemon looked embarrassed at all the attention as Marta and Janine smiled down at it, and it shied back towards the berry bush. Munchlax was tearing into the bush with gusto, and ran up to Green with a full mouth as it began jumping up and down with its' arm held up. Knowing what it wanted, she took out the second bottle, and before she could pour a drink it snatched up the bottle and started drinking slowly, washing down his meal of berries with a satisfied noise. It began to glow suddenly, and before their eyes Munchlax started to grow larger and larger, until suddenly it was smaller than small trees, towering two feet above Green's frame.

Ralts, who had been eating berries, backed away from the bush as Snorlax reached down and ripped up the whole thing with a grunt. It began eating the thing with every sign of enjoyment, and when it finished it lay back, drank the rest of the bottle and went into a comfortable sleep. Ralts walked around the huge pokemon and up to Green, turning and looking up to her quietly.

Feeling like a response was called for, Green patted Ralts on the head. "Well at least you didn't fight him after. Welcome to the team." Thought she couldn't see its' eyes from here, she was sure it looked happy. Green returned both to their balls. She turned to Janine with a grin. "You want us to save the next pokemon for you? We sort of have an unofficial rotation going on."

Janine smiled back vaguely. "If it's the right type, maybe. I'm more worried about the group that's been tailing us." Both Green and Marta looked shocked, and started to glance back down the path when Janine hissed, "Do not look! I want them to think we do not notice them. Pretend we are speaking of the new pokemon and talk low."

"How many people are there?" Green asked as she feigned a fresh gout of glee over her new catch.

"At least five. Probably six. They're walking in a tight group." Janine said as she patted Green on the shoulder.

"Why haven't we noticed?" Marta questioned offhandedly, taking a pokeball casually off her belt, as if comparing hers and Green's.

"They're staying a ways away, but they're certainly following us. Ever since the bridge. They stop when we do." Janine said evenly.

Green pulled out another few pokeballs with a sigh. "Look, let's just deal with this now." She broke suddenly away from the huddle and marched purposefully up to the now quite obvious clump of people following them. It turned out to be six people, an older man with five surly-looking teenagers.

The man had a cap on, turned backwards in a way that made him look desperate to appear younger. He backed away from the swiftly advancing girl a single step, then seemed to compose himself as he glanced at the kids behind him.

"Why have you been following us?" Green asked in a not-too-friendly tone as she crossed her hands across her chest. Marta and Janine came trotting up behind her, pokeballs in hand.

The man glared back. "We're usually stationed on the bridge to test trainers. We offer the good ones a future." he smiled then at Green, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "But we know you're a good trainer already. We also heard you got something that my boss may pay a lot for." The man had that same smile still on his face, and the kids around him snickered as if he'd said something hilariously witty.

Green nodded slowly. "I see. Out of curiosity, how many pokemon do you have?"

The man looked confused. "Four, why?"

Green looked to the kid next to him. "I'll bet none of you kids have more than two pokemon, huh?"

The kid looked even more confused. "Um, I have one pokemon. Everyone else has two except Jerry there." He pointed to Jerry, who shyly held up three pokeballs.

Green had a moment of mental calculation. "That means you have fourteen pokemon. We also have fourteen pokemon. I have six, my friend Marta has five, and Janine here has three."

"Four." Janine added. "I don't think you've seen my Zubat yet."

Nodding in agreement, Green went on. "Alright, fifteen. We beat you in numbers. Never mind the fact that we've got a Gym badge, have been smearing trainers like you across the road as we've been strolling along, and probably have better pokemon. I mean, I'm gonna bet right now that you all have pokemon that either look small and furry or small and feathery. Maybe one of you has a snake or a Nidoran. Stop me if I'm downplaying anyone here."

The man looked unfazed, and sneered at Green's words. "You're just trying to act confident. It'll take more than that to freak out these kids!" The kids around him looked as if they didn't exactly agree with this. Most were looking at their pokeballs doubtfully.

"Maybe you're right. Look, I could use another chunk of money to buy dinner for these ladies tonight. Are we gonna fight or not?" Green suddenly reached down to her pouch, and released all six of her pokemon.

"Harper, maybe we should think about this..." murmured one of the kids standing alongside the man, apparently called Harper. "I mean, they do have more pokemon... and what the hell is that pokemon anyhow?" he asked as he pointed at Regirock, who stood still as anything as it waited for an order.

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Harper, who threw out his own four pokemon out. An Ekans, Grimer, Croagunk and Tentacool. "We can just do this if we..."

"Ancientpower." said Green in a bored voice. Regirock glowed faintly, and a number of rocks formed around its' body. They sat in mid-air for a moment, and flew out at the enemy pokemon. Only Croagunk got slowly up from the assault, and he looked like he didn't want any more battling.

The guy returned his three fainted pokemon, and tossed a potion to his last upright one. "That's impressive, but once that big one goes does, how good's the rest of your team? Kids, go for the big one first!"

There was a long silence, and Harper slowly closed his eyes. "They ran away, didn't they?"

"Rounding the bend in the path now. The girl in the front's got quite a turn of speed." said Janine conversationally.

"Yes, well. The fact still remains that I've got one pokemon up." said the man without much confidence.

"Confusion." said Green as she returned Shroomish and Beedrill. Ralts concentrated, and the nervous Croagunk was picked up and slammed down to the ground. It didn't get up. "Look, if you heard about me then you must have also heard about what I did to the last Team Rocket member I caught alone."

Harper turned white, and quietly considered for a moment. He took out his wallet and his three returned pokemon, and threw them all at Green's feet in disgust. "I'm keeping Croagunk." the man said with a sulky defiance. "He's my first pokemon."

Green nodded as she considered. "That's fair. Nobody can call me an unfair girl I think." the Team Rocket member looked relieved at the words, but his good feelings didn't last long. "I think that you need to leave your pants though. Fair exchange I'd say."

Squirming on the spot, the man looked up at Regirock, Snorlax, and Charmeleon, who were all slowly closing the distance between them. He gulped. "Fine, fine. Very fair." he pulled off his pants, managing to get them off over his shoes. He wore red boxer shorts that managed to serve as a reasonable level of modesty. He tossed the pants to Green as well, who picked them up and began going through the pockets. Janine scooped up the guy's pokeballs and put them in her bag.

"Alright, you can go." Green said in a bored tone of voice as she took the money out of the wallet and pocketed it. "Charmeleon, Ember."

Harper screamed as Charmeleon shot a line of fire at him, barely dodging it as he tore down the path back after his comrades.

Fishing a small, gleaming gold nugget out of the pocket of the pants, Green grinned. "Man, I love Team Rocket. They pay for my fun."

"I think you may be prodding a sleeping lion." Janine commented dryly, her stern expression twitching in the corner with suppressed mirth.

"Whatever. We'll deal with it when the time comes. If they keep sending sad sacks at us like that, we'll just keep taking their pokemon. Let's go, I wanna make it back by dark." Green said offhandedly, turning back to the building at the end of the path as she returned Regirock, Ralts and Snorlax. "Charmeleon, burn the pants."

Marta was smiling at Green with pride as they continued, the smell of burning pants wafting on the breeze. "That was wonderful, Green. You made that guy nearly cry."

Green grinned back. "It's not hard to show a little muscle. These guys just need to start sending guys with full teams after us, knock on wood." she rapped her knuckles on a tree.

"Well I know no matter how tough they are, you'll always be ready." Marta said in such a confident voice that it made Green embarrassed.

"Thanks, Marta. I'm glad you're so unflappable."

They encountered another couple of wild pokemon on the way, a Ratatta which Green reluctantly caught to fill out her pokedex, and an Oddish that Janine picked up after a discussion with Marta. There were two trainers as well, a young couple who challenged Green to a pokemon battle and lost when she used Shroomish and Ralts against their Nidorino and Nidorina. Finally they reached the house on the hill, a large building that had two large cylinders next to it. Pipes went from the cylinders to a clear water pond nearby, and Green got the impression that it was a cooling system for whatever was inside. The lawn leading up to the front door looked and felt unkempt, as if whoever lived here had long given up trying to make it presentable.

Making their way up to the door, Green knocked slowly and carefully. There was a long pause at the sound, and no noise came from inside. Green had just turned to suggest they go when they heard a faint noise from inside, like the cry of some creature. After a moment of hesitation, Green tried the door handle, which opened slowly onto a mostly dark house. There was garbage scattered everywhere on the inside. There were things knocked over and a noticeable pattern of food stains scattering the walls. Things were quiet as they all entered the place, looking serious.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

There was a noise deep in the premises, and the three girls shared a glance. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Marta yelled into the house, but that only led to the immediate silence of the house, as if whatever had been making the noise had suddenly heard them. The three of them still walked in deeper, determined to find what had caused such chaos here.

Once they entered the kitchen they found their answer. On a table in the middle of the room there was a large creature hunched over something apparently edible, because it was digging into the thing with every sign of enjoyment. It didn't even notice them as they walked slowly into the room, glancing around at the appalling state of the kitchen. Green pulled out a pokeball, and pointed to a light switch. Marta, the person nearest to it, walked to the switch and laid her hand in front of it. There was a moment of silence as a collective breath was taken in, and Marta flipped the light on.

The thing turned around, and they were all shocked to see a human. He was sitting on all fours, eating out of a box of cereal like an animal. He shrieked when he saw the light, and ran to cower in the corner. The three trainers stared at him, and exchanged a glance. "Um, hello?" Green volunteered, hoping to make sense of this.

"Hello there." Came a voice from behind them. They all whirled around, and saw a Ratatta sitting dejectedly on a pile of boxes. "I'm sorry; this is quite an unusual circumstance you three have wandered into. My name is Bill, and I seem to have gotten myself into a bit of a mess." said the rat in perfectly understandable speech.

"You're Bill?" Janine asked curiously, and glanced for a split second at Green, who had a neutral look on her face.

"Yes indeed. You see I've been trying to further perfect my transportation system here at this facility, but alas I seem to have run across a bit of a miscalculation. Could you please assist me, kind ladies? I cannot use my keyboard with these paws." the Ratatta that was Bill said in an easy, educated tone.

Marta looked the most affected by Bill's situation. "Oh, you poor man! Of course we'll help you! What do we need to do?"

Green, who could see where these things were going, let out Regirock who appeared near the cowering man-rat. It squealed, but even as Green cried "Hold it!" Regirock was grabbing it in a loose bear hug. The man scrambled at the rock pokemon's hold, but it was obviously more panicked rat than thinking human, and instead of trying to squirm out of the hold it merely shrieked and tried to bite and scratch at it.

"Well, there's step one. Follow me if you please." Bill-rat said pleasantly, and led them out of the room and down a side hall. "I only thank my lucky stars you came now. Imagine what would have happened if he had gotten loose! Or even been given free reign of the house for another couple of hours."

"Yes," agreed Green with a serious look on her face. "These floors would be covered with ****."

Bill-rat cleared his throat. "Yes. That is not exactly what I meant but it would be a concern. I was simply worried about him getting out and me with nowhere to turn to get my body back. Knowing the others in my field, I would probably eventually get captured and out in a lab to be studied." Bill entered another room, this one full of electronics, and in the middle of the room one computer with dozens of wires coming in and out of it. There were two tubes on the back wall, both with open doors. "Now, just put my body into that tube, I'll go in this one and you just activate the transportation option on my computer there." Bill then scrambled into the left tube, and Janine shut it behind him.

Green told Regirock to place Bill's body in the other tube, and walked over to the console. It had a number of complicated-looking windows full of spreadsheets open, but in the center there was a simple-looking window with a few choices. "Activate" and "Abort Sequence" were the only two options open and clickable, so she chose "Activate" and turned to watch the tubes. There was a half minute as nothing happened, and then both tubes let out a sharp click as the doors locked. The room was filled with a deep humming that made the floors shake for a moment, and then both tubes opened up. After a moment, the left tube opened with a hiss, and Bill stepped out in his human body.

"Ah, my body! Thank you, ladies! I can't tell you how good it feels to have thumbs again." Bill said, flexing his hands with apparent pleasure as he walked over to the other tube. It opened, revealing a Ratatta who looked confused as hell. Bill picked up a pokeball off the ground and returned it before continuing. "This was meant to be my first foray into not just pokemon transportation, but human as well! It seems that the system still has a lot of work to be done on it before it can accept humans however. Maybe it's just the interaction between pokemon/human subjects is all…" Bill trailed off, and he absentmindedly picked up a notebook lying nearby and began scribbling notes.

"Well, I'm glad we could help." said Green, now looking to go now that the interesting stuff had happened. "So, what's the quickest way back to town anyhow?"

Bill waved his hands at Green, and smiled hugely. "Oh, I couldn't let you leave without giving you some kid of reward! You saved my life back there! It's the least I could do." He said as he put down his notebook and rushed to a filing cabinet in the corner of the room. There, he dug for a while before he finally extracted an envelope, which he opened with a finger. "I was sent some tickets here for the S.S. Anne. I don't think I'm going to be able to go on the voyage, however. There's been a whole lot of work piling up, and now I've got to deal with my whole house being a mess." He looked inside, and then handed the whole envelope over. "There's four tickets inside. I may as well give you all of them."

Green was actually reluctant to take the gift. She didn't know how much time this trip would take, and she was eager to get the badges for the Pokemon League. Her companions had other plans however, because Janine reached out and snatched the envelope before Green could say anything. She turned to her two companions, who were holding the envelope as if it were full of gold.

"The S.S. Anne?!" Marta exclaimed, looking pleased as she extracted a ticket. "It's a luxury cruise liner! It only takes a trip every few months! They've always got plenty of food, battling, and plenty of other stuff too! My dad said he went a few years ago and he nearly ate himself to bursting!" Marta said in an ecstatic tone of voice, practically bouncing on her toes.

"Oh, it'll be good to get a massage." Janine added wistfully. "I wouldn't say no to a couple days of sunbathing either."

Feeling her spirits sink, Green decided to still try getting out of it. "Well… I mean we're going to be too busy to do this right?" she asked without much hope.

Both girls looked at Green like she was stupid. "Of course we're not!" they both said together, emphatically.

Janine put an arm around Green's shoulders and smiled. "Come on, Green. You deserve a short break as much as we do. Won't you please do it for us?" she asked, her last words coming out slow and sweet.

Green looked up at Janine, and couldn't help but smile back. She knew she had lost with that smile. "Fine, whatever. We'll go on the ship."

Bill cleared his throat, which made the three of them jump. In the excitement of the moment they'd all forgotten he was there. "I'm glad you enjoy the tickets! I always get some because I helped out the captain once with setting up a PC on the ship. I must say that while it's fun it can get a bit repetitive after a while. Would you all care for some tea?"

"Sure, sounds like a blast." Green said as they all filed out of the room and into the kitchen. "So you made the computer system on the ship?"

Bill smiled as he put a kettle of water on the stove. He had scrounged up a tin can full of tea bags that had not got eaten. "Yes, in fact I and my associate Lanette have developed the majority of the storage system currently in place. Of course there have been numerous others that have made contributions to the system in our time."

Green tuned out the conversation entirely as Marta joined in with questions about the PC system. She tried to feign interest, but only ended up thinking more about her upcoming battle with Misty. Soon the tea was served, and after they were done the sun was already pink in the sky outside.

"…and of course that's when my mother gave up being a Kimono Girl." Bill said offhandedly to Marta, who seemed to be the only one paying any real attention.

"Well isn't that a thing." Green said in an even tone of voice. She looked up at Bill. "Look, I hate to cut this short, but we have to get to the Cerulean Gym before it closes. Of course it was a pleasure meeting you Bill."

Janine shot up. She had been resting her head in her hands and staring out of the window, but paid attention now that a way of leaving was present. "Yes, we have to go!"

Looking genuinely disappointed that they had to cut short their conversation. She drained her cup, and stood up with a bow. "Thank you very much for the tea. I had a great time. Thank you for the tickets as well. We'll make sure to keep in touch!"

Bill looked sorry to see them go. "Oh, of course. I don't mean to keep you any longer than necessary. Please, if ever you are in the area, please stop by. I'm always glad to see some friends to talk with."

They all left, and Bill waved them off as they walked down the hill. "Man, he needs a partner or something." Green muttered as they went out of sight of the house. Looking up at the sky, Green scowled. "I dunno if we're gonna make it back in time. I have an idea."

Ralts was let out in a cascade of red light. It lifted its' helmeted head to look at Green in anticipation. "Everyone put a finger on Ralts." Green commanded, and the other two laid a gentle finger on each of the pokemon's shoulders. Green put her hand on top of its' head. "Teleport."

There was a feeling like the universe twisted into a ball and snapped back all at once. Green blinked, and looked around at the entrance of the Cerulean City Pokemon Center. Ralts looked exhausted at the mental energy needed to make this work, and it was grateful when Green returned it and walked inside. She was surprised that the people around them didn't even seem to notice their sudden appearance. Janine and Marta followed at a trot, and all three went into the Pokemon Center to restore their pokemon to full health.

"Green!" yelled an excited voice as they all entered. Red ran up to the trio, pushing past various people in their way in his haste to get to them as fast as possible. He beamed as he finally stopped, and pulled out a badge shaped like a teardrop. "I did it! While you guys were gone I got the badge! Can you believe it?!"

Smiling vaguely, Green patted Red on the shoulder. "Yup. You sure did." She hesitated for a moment, and very reluctantly continued, "Hey, Red, do you want to come on the S.S. Anne with us? We got an extra ticket earlier on." Green didn't want to have to encourage Red any longer, but at the same time he had helped out with Team Rocket, and telling him now that they didn't want him around would be like kicking a very excitable puppy.

Red's eyes widened. "Would I!" he said ecstatically, dancing around in a little circle. "I can't wait! This is the best day ever!"

"Yes, yes. I'll bet it is." Green said vaguely, brushing past Red to drop off her pokemon at the counter. "We've gotta go get our badges after this. I hope you don't mind waiting around for a while."

"No, I don't mind." said Red evenly. He was standing close behind Green, and when she looked back at him he blushed suddenly and backed up a step. "Um, I'll just wait for you at the Gym." He said nervously, and quickly left the Pokemon Center, leaving a very confused Green behind.

Marta giggled, and Green whirled to glare at her. Marta had one hand covering her mouth, and could barely keep her laughter in. "He likes you." She said with a smile on her face.

Green felt sick to her stomach. This just added a whole lot of problems onto the pile. "Oh…" she said slowly, and sat down on one of the couches with a sigh. "Well that's not good."

Marta sat down next to her with a twinkle in her eye. "Oh, it's not so bad. You've never dated a boy before, have you?"

Green opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Um… I can safely say no." She slowly got up again, and without a word brushed past Janine, who was standing there smiling at Green's response. Green stopped at the PC, extracted two of her remaining eight bottles of vodka, and snagged a bottle of juice from the concessions table before plopping back down next to Marta.

The other two watched silently as Green poured herself one drink, finished it, and poured another. Janine plopped down next to Green, looking concerned. "Something the matter?"

I don't think it would be very good to keep traveling with Red, Green wanted to say. If he likes me then he's just setting himself for heartbreak. For one he's kind of annoying, for two I still find handling a **** kind of gay unless it's my own, and for three all this Red being around is seriously gonna cut into my chances of scoring with you two. What she said was, "No."

Janine nodded, with an expression on her face that said she didn't buy it. "Fine, alright. Can I have a drink too?"

Green nodded and poured another drink, wordlessly handing it over to Janine. After a moment of drinking, Nurse Joy bustled up with the three sets of pokeballs. She silently handed them out, and paused in front of Green.

"Um, excuse me, is that alcohol?" Nurse Joy asked, in a tone of voice that screamed disapproval.

"Well, duh. I just found out I apparently have an admirer. Why, do you have a problem with it?" Green responded fiercely, and glared.

Nurse Joy looked embarrassed. "Um… no. No, just curious." She said, bustling away quickly.

Marta looked at Green, who was pouring herself a third drink. "Um, maybe you've had enough for today."

Green got up, and her glare at Marta made her actually back away. "No. I. Haven't." she said through clenched teeth. She knew she wasn't angry at Marta, but right then she was the only person around who had decided to make a dumb comment like that.

When Green and the other two finally left the Pokemon Center, Green realized quite quickly that she was the drunkest she'd been since coming here. Both of her companions walked behind her, whispering to each other as Green marched unsteadily down the street and towards the open doors of the Cerulean City Gym. The shadows were long in the afternoon light, but Green didn't even notice as she marched right up to the doors and paused there, on the threshold, looking furious.

"Can I have one of those cigars?" Green asked Janine, holding out one hand imperiously.

Janine slowly fished in her bag and wordlessly handed it over. Green took it, sniffed it, and walked inside the Gym, contented.

There weren't many people here this time of afternoon. The seats were populated with only a few sparse people, most of whom were a family who watched as a blue-haired girl in a bathing suit led a Vaporeon through a rigorous training regime. The large center pool in the place was outfitted with four large foam pads, which seemed to support the weight of the Vaporeon nicely as it dove above water, ran along the length of one and dove back into the water with barely a splash. Green walked casually up to one end of the pool and glared at the blue haired girl. "Hey, I'm here to challenge the Gym!"

Everyone stared at her for a moment. It was an awkward moment. The blue haired girl coughed, and looked around. "Um, right. I'll… uh, get Misty." She shuffled awkwardly towards a large curtain patterned with water Pokemon in the back of the room. There was another few moments of silence.

"Are we gonna see a pokemon battle?" whispered one of the children with the family. This place echoed sounds, and Green could make out their talking well even from poolside.

"Yes, Greg" said his mother in a quiet, placating voice.

"Is she gonna win?"

"Maybe sweetheart. She's kind of young. Cheer even if she loses."

Green's eyebrow twitched. Maybe it was just the alcohol taking hold something fierce, maybe it was the comment, but she was furious all of a sudden. Feeling unable to vent her rage sufficiently at the family, she focused the anger at her new mental struggle. Christ, why did she ever let anyone come along in the first place? Saying yes to one person snowballed into a giant drama. Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe she was going to get a sudden group one way or the other, and it was better that it was now.

A thought whipped through Green's mind that suddenly stopped her blood cold. What is it WAS inevitable? Come to think of it, her new group had all come together awfully quick. What did she really know of these three people? Marta lived on Cinnabar Island. She used to have a boyfriend, couldn't recall the name. Janine had a father she had issues with, and she wore black clothes. There was also something, like a ghost of a memory, which kept telling her she knew the girl from somewhere. Red was the male main character from the games. She vaguely remembered him being enthusiastic and having a Pikachu. That was about it collectively. Was there a possibility that these three companions were placed in her path like land mines by the weird shadowy men? Were they DESIGNED to cause drama and tension, or to distract from the goal?

As the anger gave way to a sudden nervous confusion, the curtain was pulled back, and a girl with spiky red hair combed to one side came out. She was wearing a bikini, with a pokemon trainer's belt slung across her waist in a way that made Green think of a cowboy. She looked exasperated at this challenger. "Oh, more trainers today? I've only got three battle worthy pokemon left! Are you the challenger?" she demanded of Green.

Green could feel the alcohol-induced anger kick her body back to the present. "Yes I am. Are you the Gym Leader's daughter?"

The girl went red. "No, I'm the Gym Leader. Misty." She responded coldly. She reached down to the belt. "May I get your name?"

"Green." She said, and wondered vaguely if she had a last name technically.

"Green, this will be a three-on-three pokemon battle. I specialize in an all-out offensive with water pokemon, so be prepared. Quagsire!" she threw out her first pokeball, releasing the slow-looking blue salamander out. It blinked slowly in the fading light, and again in the sudden lights that were turned on inside the Gym.

"Shroomish." Green chose, tossing out the mushroom pokemon who bounced up and down eagerly. "Mega Drain!"

Quagsire groaned as its' energy was slowly being drained. "Mud Shot! Knock it in the water!" Misty yelled back fiercely. Quagsire breathed in, and spewed a stream of mud that knocked Shromish rolling off the pad.

When he hit the water, Shroomish began to panic. Being just a ball with legs, he couldn't see to get himself out of the water. "Get back on a platform! Hurry Shroomish!"

"Quagsire, Slam!" yelled Misty, seeing an advantage. Quagsire jumped in the water, and with surprising speed swam over to Shroomish. He hit it hard with his tail, sending Shroomish spinning through the water.

Green bit her lip and thought desperately. "Um, take a big breath to steady yourself!" she yelled, he first thing that came to mind. Shroomish did as it was told, and surprisingly it suddenly see-sawed back upright. It looked pleased with itself. "Now Mega Drain, hurry!" Shroomish concentrated hard, and the rapidly approaching Quagsire was once again drained of energy. It slowed noticeably in the water, and suddenly looked exhausted as it stopped moving.

Misty returned her pokemon with a grunt, and Green cheered. "Nice job Shroomish! Now, find a way to pull yourself up…" her response died in her throat as that wonderful glow surrounded Shroomish. It began to grow in the water, a tail and head curling away from the body. Two short arms came out too, and one of those arms grabbed the side of the nearest pad and pulled it back up and on its' feet. Breloom stood ready, tail swinging lazily behind it. Green giggled in glee.

Misty looked perturbed as she threw out her next pokemon "Starmie! Swift!" she commanded, wasting no time. Starmie appeared, floating in mid-air, and launched a volley of stars at Breloom. It held up its tail to protect its face as the stars rained down around it, but when Starmie stopped it swung its' tail back around and dropped into a menacing pose.

"Stun spore!" Green ordered back, and Breloom spewed out a stream of spores towards the hovering starfish. It started to slow in mid-air and dropped to the water with a mighty splash.

"Confuse Ray!" Misty said hurriedly, but the Starmie only shook in the water.

"Mega drain." Green commanded again. Why not go with a good thing? Breloom held a hand up and concentrated, pulling that green stream out this pokemon as well.

"Water Pulse!" Misty commanded, and Starmie finally shot out of the water, whizzing in the air as it fired a solid ball of water at Berloom. It skid off one of the floating tiles and hit Breloom square in the chest, knocking him back. The water looked as if it hurt, but Breloom's spongy hide cushioned the blow a bit.

"Headbutt!" Beloom shot forward, and rammed the gem in the middle with its forehead, driving the Starmie into the water. Breloom landed lightly on a foam pad.

Starmie floated there as Breloom looked considerably confident. Misty returned it with a growl. "Fine, my last pokemon then. Lapras! Aurora beam that Breloom!" Lapras appeared in the water, concentrated, and fired a multi-colored beam at Breloom even as it leapt straight at it. Unfortunately for Green it hit, and Breloom went splashing into the water.

Green returned Breloom, still feeling proud. For a moment she decided she would use Charmeleon, then something told her to just use the big guns. Why the hell not. "Hey, wanna see my new trump card? Regirock!"

Regirock appeared on one of the foam platforms, and it immediately buckled under its weight. There was a confusing moment of action, and then Regirock slipped into the pool. There was a dull thud as it hit the bottom.

For a moment, everything was quiet and then Misty burst out laughing. "That was it? Geez, maybe you should have thought this out more!"

Green grinned. "I thought it out enough." She cupped her hands around her mouth and bellowed into the pool, "Superpower!"

There was a moment of silence, and then with a great eruption of water Regirock shot up out of the water, eyes blazing yellow into the stunned Lapras' face. It barely cleared the surface, but it grabbed Lapras in a bear hug, tucked it tight, and plummed back under the water with the water pokemon in tow. There was a moment of silence again, and then a dull, deeper thud than before. Lapras slowly floated to the top, groaning feebly as it splashed in the waves and its' shell had a hairline crack down the right side. Regirock jumped out of the water and landed next to the pool edge with a deep thud that shook the floor a bit.

Misty looked stunned. "I… lost." she said slowly, stunned as she returned her Lapras.

"Really badly, too!" said one of three girls, all in bathing suits, standing behind her. It turned out to be the blue-haired girl from earlier, who was smiling and clapping. Next to her were a blonde and a girl with curiously purple hair, both joining in as well.

Green looked at her clapping curiously and realized others were joining in and cheering the victory, including the whole family from earlier. She felt embarrassed to blushing when she realized Marta, Red and Janine were all there, cheering loudest of all.

Misty walked around the pool and handed over a tear-shaped badge. "I can safely say you earned this, the Cascade Badge! I never expected such a fierce battle from one like you, and that's what cost me the win."

Taking it graciously, Green inspected her new badge with pride. Misty went on, pulling a disk out of a pocket on her belt. "And of course your TM for Water Pulse." She tossed it to Green, who took it looking stunned.

"Wait, these exist?" she asked, bewildered.

"Yes indeed?" Misty responded, looking curiously back at the three girls behind her, who shrugged.

"Brock's a bastard then… I need to get in touch with that cheapskate!" Green yelled suddenly, silencing the room for a moment. "I mean… I think my two friends here would like to battle for the Cascade Badge as well." She said lamely, motioning to Marta and Janine.

Misty rolled her eyes. "Well I'm out of usable pokemon. I've been getting hit up for battles all day. Daisy? Violet? I think you two are going to have to step up here." She said heavily as she walked over to a bench and sat down, where she was approached by her purple haired sister, who comforted her n the loss.

The two girls looked to each other, and it was clear in their expressions that they didn't like this idea at all. "Tell you what." said the girl in the blonde hair, who must have been Daisy, looking thoughtful. "Would you have a problem if we just gave you the badges?"

"No." said Janine and Marta almost in tandem.

"Great!" said the blue-haired girl who also must have been Violet. The two of them dug out a badge and TM apiece, handing them over to a grateful Marta and Janine.

"What?!" Misty yelled, running up to the two girls, flapping her arms in anger. "You can't just do this! I have a reputation to keep at this Gym! You can't just be…"

"Oh hush, little sister." said Daisy, tapping Misty on her nose. "We're tired, and if the other two are as good we don't stand a chance. Let's let everyone get to bed early." Misty looked like she wanted to fume, and settled for sighing and leaving the room in a huff.

"What's she so upset about?" asked Violet with a shrug. She waved to the trainers and left the room with a spring in her step.

"Thanks for all the help!" Green called as they all left the Gym and walked onto the quiet, dark streets of Cerulean City.

"That was awesome in there!" Red said enthusiastically as they all walked back to the hotel together. "I had to use three pokemon, but you just blew my performance away! I just know you're gonna be a Pokemon Master, Green!"

Green stopped in the road and looked at Red, and then Marta and Janine in turn as well. The other two were both smiling, Marta with her wide open smile and Janine with her small satisfied smirk. Green remembered her thoughts from earlier. These people could just be land mines. Human tar pits meant to slow her down. But once again Green was softened by those bright eyes that viewed her like their leader. Having people follow you around was like a drug, but like a drug with feelings attached to them. Green ultimately figured she was drunk, and just decided to say **** it and roll with it. "You know, I think I am too." She responded to Red with a smile. She turned the smile to Janine, who smiled back in a warm and slightly curious manner.

Marta began talking after a few seconds. "Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm starving. Let's see if they have a meal cooked at the hotel." She brushed past Green, who looked back down the road and followed at a trot.

They did indeed have a meal set out when they returned. Large heated dishes were in the lobby, and a few other hotel guests were sitting around and eating amidst light conversation. They all had a good hot meal of wild rice, flaky rolls and what Green guessed was Magikarp grilled with garlic and butter. Green ate her fill before anyone else, especially Red who was on his second helping and going strong even as she finished her first plate. Green excused herself from the table; feeling tired, and promised to see everyone in the morning. She felt physically exhausted after drinking and eating so much, and she just wanted to go to sleep and not bother showering until the morning. Behind her she could hear the lazy chatter of Marta and Red as they discussed Red's battle at the Cerulean Gym.

Entering her room, Green quickly shut the door with a snap and stripped off her outer clothes with a sigh of relief as she fished out her overlarge sleeping shirt. She kept the hat on, just because she liked the way it looked. Settling down into the unmade mess of a bed she'd left behind, she sighed in relief. It would be such a load off hr mind if she could just sleep. The day had been absolutely packed. She could already feel her muscles relaxing even as she threw the blanket over her head. **** turning off the lights.

After about ten minutes, just when she was drifting off to sleep, there was a soft rap at the door. Green cracked an eye open. "What now?" she mumbled to herself as she got out of bed, throwing off the blanket with a huff of annoyance as she got up and stalked to the door. Throwing it open, she was surprised to see Janine standing at the door, looking like she had something on her mind.

"Green, can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked, coming in without waiting for a response. Green shut the door and followed her inside. Janine sat down on the edge of the bed, with Green plopping beside her and looking concerned. Janine spoke a bit hesitantly. "Green, do you think Red is handsome?"

Green looked shocked. "Wha? I mean… I guess he's not a bad looking guy, even though he's no Sean Connery."

Looking confused at the reference, Janine went on. "But do you find him attractive?

"Wait, what? I mean, sure he's a nice guy, why…"

Janine cut in like a knife. "No. I asked, do you find him attractive? It's a serious question. Think of it."

Hesitantly, Green put her mind to it. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. "No, I don't find him attractive." She said evenly.

"Do you think Marta's pretty?" Janine queried, moving a bit closer to Green.

Nodding, Green said simply, "sure she's pretty."

"Do you find her… attractive?" Janine asked slowly after a moment's pause.

"Yes. That is, I could consider myself attracted to her body if you want specifics." Green responded evenly.

Janine seemed to accept this question stoically as well, only nodding evenly. She moved in an inch closer, and Green could feel their legs touch briefly. "Do you find me attractive?" Janine asked simply, running a hand through her hair.

"You skipped the first question." Green noted in an even tone of voice, even as her heart pounded. Green let her finger drift to Janine's palm. "Yes."

Janine took Green's hand in her own and the two stared at each other for a long moment. Then Green reached up to the taller girl and pulled her head down for a short, sweet kiss on the lips. She then placed her head on Janine's chest and listened for a moment to the heartbeat. "Are you attracted to me?" Green asked in as husky of a whisper she could manage.

Janine, instead of responding, went in for another kiss that lasted twice as long as the first.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 10-Maybe Green Should Cut Back On the Drinking

Green opened one bleary eye, and the first thing that she wanted was to pee herself dry. Dislodging herself from Janine, who was asleep and clothed in her bed, she stumbled to the bathroom and relieved herself. Immediately after, her stomach lurched, and she found herself flushing the toilet even as she turned around and vomited her guts out. Laying there for a minute, panting with her head upon the toilet seat, Green had time to wonder what the hell had happened. Then she had time to think how sorry she must look right now. Tilting her head wearily to the side, she could see her hair dangling in the toilet. Great.

Closing her eyes, Green took a deep breath to try and stop the bile from rising again. It did anyhow, and once again she found herself pounding out the contents of her guts. After a shaky few minutes, Green reached over with a trembling hand and turned on the shower. She gave it a minute as she took some more deep breaths, trying not to breathe in her nose. It only helped a little. She could still smell and taste bile in her throat. It made her gag. Finally she flushed the toilet, waited for everything to swirl down, cleaning the hair that had flopped in as much as possible. Then, in that moment before the bowl filled back up, she flopped bodily into the tub with a satisfied sigh and a thump. Slowly she let her body come back to life in the warm water, feeling an ache come to her muscles all over. Lazily Green let her mouth dangle open, and she gargled and spit out the slightly metallic tasting shower water.

It was only when Green was back in the room and getting dressed did she fully notice Janine sleeping in the bed. That gave her pause. Come to think of it, she didn't know what had exactly happened last night. Really everything after the Gym battle was kind of a blur. There was something about asking if she liked Marta or something?

Then it all came crashing down on her. She had made out with Janine. Dammit. Had she been thinking clearly it wouldn't have been on her top five things to do. Well, that was a lie. It was, in the sense that the part of her that was still Rudolph wanted to bury his face into some tits. Green had just done it because… well because she hadn't really been thinking by that point. Maybe she had a drink too many. Come to think of it, her kidneys did hurt a bit as well. Green got a drink of water as she plopped down on a chair in the room.

Green felt that urge to throw up again halfway through the glass of water. Wanting to go for a walk or something, she shoved her soaking clothes in the washer/drier and stumbled out the door, grabbing two pokeballs on a last-minute whim.

The sun wasn't even up as Green walked through the misty streets of Cerulean City, and she was grateful for the silence and lack of people. It was oddly peaceful, and of course there would be nobody to notice she forgot her shoes. She made her way to the bridge at the north end of town, leaned over the railing and puked again into the water. Then, with a sigh of relief, she drank at her water again with slow and steady ease as she sat down on the bridge, facing out over the dark river. Stars shone off most of the surface, and the only thing that disrupted the peace were a few Magikarp that were coming to the surface to eat the results of yesterday's meals. Green smiled. "Heh. Gross."

Even as she watched one Magikarp come up and nearly break the surface, it seemed to slow down and dim gently into grey. Blinking furiously, Green got up and started looking around wildly. She didn't have to wait long until shadows further down the bridge began slowly coalescing into a tall, shadowy creature with a triangle of sea-green eyes that glowed gently in the sudden unreality.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Green decided to break the silence. She decided on indignant. "Well, look who decided to show up. What the hell is it? Where's your ******* friend with the dark blue eyes?"

"THEY ARE NOT MY FRIEND." Responded the thing evenly, making . "WE HAVE COME TO INQUIRE ON YOUR CONDITION."

Green looked puzzled. "Um, what do you mean? Like, are you asking how I'm doing? I'm doing ****ing lousy, you two-dimensional ****! I mean, I've got three people back there that for some reason are following me on this journey. You wanna tell me that's not convenient? How am I supposed to know anything is real here? Any person, or anything? What's stopping me from taking all these pokemon, waiting until I can get them all strong, and go on a killing spree so massive that I've gotta be taken out by local authorities?"

The thing considered for a moment. "YOU MUST HAVE IMAGINED THAT THERE WAS REASON IN OUR CHOOSING YOURSELF." As Green considered that statement carefully, the thing went on. "WE DEEMED YOU AS THE PIECE DUE TO YOUR ABILITY TO BOTH SUCCEED AND FAIL IN EQUAL MEASURE."

Green waited for more, but it didn't come. "Wha… what does that even mean? And you never answered the part about the people in this world! Are they real or like, Matrix programs or something? Or you guys in disguise?"

"THEY ARE AS REAL YOU MAKE THEM OUT TO BE. PERHAPS IT IS EASIER FOR YOUR MIND TO ACCEPT THEM IF I SIMPLY TELL YOU NO HOWEVER." The thing said, and Green was astonished to hear a touch of what she could only think of as disapproval in the voice.

"Wait…" Green hesitated as she thought over his words. "Are you saying I treat people here like objects?"

"YOU TREAT YOUR OWN BODY AS AN OBJECT. HOW COULD YOU THINK DIFFERENT OF THE OTHERS?" it asked evenly.

Green blinked repeatedly. "Wait, what?! Hey I'm really confused here! Wha gives? The last guy just showed up and…" she drifted off as she thought it out. "Come to think of it, what did he do? Well, all I know what that he was much ruder than you! Now you're coming and giving me Sunday school lessons?!" The comment about treating her own body bad kind of hit home hard today.

The thing waited before it responded. It flickered gently like a TV with a shaky reception. It spoke slowly, like it was thinking carefully of each spoken word. "WE BELIEVE IN YOUR HIGHER NATURE. WHEN THE GAME WAS CALLED A DISPUTATION FORMED. YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE GAME CALLED FOR ONE EDIT TO THE RULES FOR EACH SIDE. EACH COULD DECIDE THE FORM OF THEIR EDIT WHICH COULD BE VOTED ON IN COUNCIL. THEY DECIDED TO TAKE THEIR EDIT IN THE FORM OF SELECTIVE MEMORY WIPE. WE CHOSE A DIRECT LINE OF COMMUNICATION."

As Green opened and closed her jaw in order to try popping her ears, she mentally translated. "So, those other guys took my memory, and you just decided to have a talk about my questionable morals?"

"IN SHORT. WE MERELY VOICE CONCERN OVER YOUR ACTIONS."

"What?! You guys transported me here against my will and… granted a fantasy I've had for… huh." Green's voice started off angry, and slowed as she rethought the words. "Well, the girl thing's kind of annoying and stuff. Fine, name one thing I've done that's questionable!"

"USING ALCOHOL YOU INNEBRIATED A YOUNG FEMALE IN A FRAGILE EMOTIONAL STATE AND MOLESTED HER." The thing said. Green winced noticeably.

"Well, of course it's bad if you put it like that!" she retorted, feeling guilt suddenly drop into her body like a drop of ink into water.

"DO YOU HAVE GENUINE EMOTIONS FOR THE FEMALE?"

"I could! You know, she's got… pokemon too… and wears black…" Green stammered, and her mind shut down a bit. "Her dad wishes she was a boy." Wracking her mind turned up no more details. "She gave me this… cigar?"

"YOU DID NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION."

"Well, I could like her! You know, given time and stuff! Man, why are you even… bothering with this?! If I get my body back it won't even matter, right? This whole place will be gone!" Green yelled back, angry at this thing for heaping all of this heavy news about a world that was there just for a game concerning him.

"WE CANNOT UNMAKE GAME BOARDS. THE ECHOES YOU MAKE HERE WILL BE ON THIS BOARD FOREVER." It said in a voice that was calm and cool as a speaker.

Green mulled over that for a few minutes. "Um, what's one of your old boards?"

The air between the two shimmered. The suggestion of a spinning globe formed slowly, and when Green squinted into the depths, she could see black and white squares covering the surface. A variety of black and white horses, men in robes, and castles slid around endlessly. "Chess? You guys actually found someone who wished he was in chess?"

"WELL THEY WERE RATHER BIZARRE YOUNG MEN. NEVER ANY FEMALES. WE CALCULATED WITH SO MANY WISHING FOR THIS GAME WE WOULD HAVE A MUCH MORE DIVERSE BASE FOR MUCH LONGER"

"So, you're telling me that when I leave, what, the pokemon I take will go too?" Green asked sarcastically.

"OF COURSE NOT. SHOULD YOU FINISH YOUR GOAL THEY WILL OF COURSE REMAIN BEHIND. THE CONTINUITY MUST BE MAINTAINED."

"My goal! What the hell is my goal anyhow!?" Green asked, frantic now that the question formed in her mind. She has wanted to ask this of these creatures since that first one had left.

"THERE WOULD BE NO PURPOSE TO A GAME IF WE TOLD YOU WHERE THE GOAL WAS." It said coldly, and it began to fade away, all except for the eyes. "REMEMBER YOUR ACTIONS HAVE REPERCUSSIONS. YOU ARE POTENTIAL. LUCK TO YOU PIECE." And with those cryptic words the eyes snapped out of existence.

The Magikarp jumped out of the water and landed with a splash, startling Green out of her mental workings. Green looked around, shaking with a combination of rage, confusion, guilt and a bit of self-loathing. She kind of wanted someone to hurt, but there was nobody around even in sight. After a few minutes of silence, she walked slowly back to the hotel.

When Green got back Janine wasn't in her room, and she thanked her lucky stars. Now Green felt like a… rapist or something. It made her want to take a shower again. She wasn't sure how to even think of Janine anymore. With that, and dark thoughts without easy answers, Green and Rudolph eventually went to sleep.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 11 looks like it may be about as long as Chapter 9. It should be done in a day or two.

 

[Lycaeus]

OMG. This is amazing. I'm about to start chapter six and this is without doubt on of the best fanfics I've ever read. I love how Green's a alcoholic and how she's really a he. Marta is funny too. I'll be keeping a eye on this!

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Chapter 11-Fun and Fancy Free

A hand shaking her awoke Green with a snort. "Green, wake up! If we want to make the cruise we've got to leave soon!" Marta said jovially as she bustled around the room, picking up Green's things and storing them away neatly in her bag. "You go and take a shower and head downstairs. I got a packed lunch ready that we can eat while we walk."

Green blinked in the light. It shined painfully in her eyes and made her groan and turn away. "Why are you always so perky? And how did you get in here?" Green asked in a cracked trailing voice as she balled herself up.

"I also left you a glass of water." Marta said, still in the pleasant tone of voice. "You forgot to lock your door last night. Now hurry up! I'm going to go wake up Red." She bustled out of the room, leaving a cleaned up room behind.

Green groaned, but pushed herself up and out of bed with a heave. Stumbling to the bathroom, she gratefully stripped and took another shower, taking extra time on her dirty feet and using up every bit of the complementary soap. Walking out into the room with a long yawn, she got dressed slowly in a new set of clothes, putting her barely used set to a quick wash cycle in the washer/drier. Almost robotically, she took out the bottle of vodka from last night that she figured must have some left, but found it empty. Curiously she took out the next bottle and looked at it. The seal had been broken already, even though only a sip or two had been taken. Maybe the shadow thing had been right. That was a LOT of alcohol, especially considering that she was eleven after all. Carefully replacing the bottle, she decided that maybe she'd go without drinking today.

As Green made her way down the stairs, she could see that she was the last one. Janine looked the most tired besides herself, and Green felt a pang of renewed guilt. She avoided the gaze as she made her way to the bottom of the stairs. "Well, I guess let's get going! I guess we could use a few days of relaxation."

"I thought you'd be looking forward to the battling!" Red said enthusiastically, walking alongside Green eagerly as they left the hotel, and began the walk towards the south of town. "I hear they have a bunch of battling arenas below deck, and there's going to be trainers from all over! I'm gonna be there and at the buffets the whole time!" he said with a grin as they headed out of town and down towards the underground path that lead to Vermillion City.

Green nodded and smiled back. "Well yeah. I may spend some times in the hot tubs of course. Just to relax a bit." She said in what she thought was a light and friendly tone. It was only when she reviewed the words that she regretted them. Red was already blushing and avoiding her gaze.

"Yeah, maybe it would be good to relax a bit!" Red said back as he looked around wildly in the grass around them. "Hmm, I wondering if there'll be any pokemon on the way there?" he said, obviously to change the topic of conversation.

Janine suddenly appeared o the other side of Red, smiling pleasantly down at him. "Maybe you could look for some better if you went on ahead?" she suggested, with a pleasant smile on her face, showing all her teeth.

Red smiled back, a bit nervously, looked back to Green for a moment and sped up to a quicker trot without another word. Green looked up at Janine with a grin. "Hey… how's it going?

Janine smiled back. "It's going very well. I noticed you disappeared last night?"

Green nodded vaguely. "Yeah… I went walking around town. I was thinking about stuff. Hey listen, I wanna talk with you about last night." Green was dismayed to see Janine perk up and smile brighter. "I think I made a mistake last night and I want to apologize. I think I've been drinking too much recently. I'm sorry if I…" Green hesitated as Janine's face fell, and hardened into a thin line. "…led you on or anything. I was just… pretty drunk."

Janine was silent for a few minutes as they walked down the road. They watched without speaking as Red, far ahead of the party, sent out his Ivysaur against a Pidgeotto. "No, of course not. If anything I led you on. I'm the older one here. Can you just answer me one question?" she said, her expression cool and even.

"Sure. No problem." Green said, feeling nervous about this attitude in Janine.

"Is it one of the other two?" she asked in a whisper. She kept her eyes firmly on Green. "Is it? Or is it really because you were drinking?"

Feeling her mouth dry, Green looked back astonished. It was not the response she'd been expecting. "Of course not!"

Janine looked back for a moment, as if judging the expression on Green's face. Suddenly, she broke into a large smile. "I understand. I'm sorry this was awkward." Without a look back, she began walking towards Red, who was almost at the underground path.

Green breathed in and out deeply. That was not fun. Janine seemed to have gotten over it quickly, which was just proof that she wasn't. On the bright side, at least there was no huge awkward fight.

"Are you ok?" Marta asked gently as she walked up behind Green, who realized they must have left her behind by herself for a while.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine. No complaints." said Green evenly, trying to put on a casual pace and increase her pace. "We'd better hurry, right?"

A hand on her shoulder stopped Green. Marta turned her around. "I know you like to be tough, but you don't always have to carry the world on your shoulders. You listened to me. I'll always listen to you too." And with a pat on the shoulder, Marta walked to catch up with Janine and Red.

Green looked back, and saw Janine looking at her with a long stare. As Marta caught up, her attention focused there and the two talked quietly on. Green sighed and released Charmeleon, who yawned and looked up at Green curiously. She scratched it on the head, and it grumbled in a contented sort of way. "Man, I wish I was just with you guys. This **** is complicated. Let's go see if there's more pokemon to catch."

They stopped for lunch inside the building leading to the underground path leading to Route 6, and eventually Vermillion City. Marta and Red were much more animated during the meal. Red let out his Pikachu during the brunch as well, and it played eagerly with a relatively indifferent Charmeleon. All around them there was a faint hustle and bustle as a few sparse people went to or from the underground path. Snorlax was let out and given the rest of the bottle of alcohol, and he drank it eagerly, giving Green a huge hug once it was finished. She had to return it to make it let go.

The walk through the path was just as silent for Green. Lights along the left and right walls shone with a dull florescent glow, putting a rather dismal edge to the silent trek. Finally, not being able to stand it any longer Green found herself walking up to Red, who was humming to himself as he walked at the head of the group. "So, do you think there's going to be a lot of trading going on during the cruise?" she asked brightly, if only for something to say.

Red smiled back. "I hope so! Wow, imagine if we can get a rare pokemon from one of the other lands!" he said, excited to hear enthusiasm in Green's voice.

"What pokemon are you hoping to find?" Green said politely, and for a while let him lead the conversation as he described all the different pokemon he wanted. She just had to smile or agree at the right moments, and as they all left the underground path Green even found herself joining in actively with the conversation. All things aside, she enjoyed talking with Red. Deep down she considered herself a man, and so it was good to talk with another guy, even if it wasn't quite the same as before.

"So, that's why you've gotta get a little more type differentiation on your team. Right now your team can get sweeped too easily. You gotta expect any type. I'm not saying that you'll fight a dragon type tomorrow or anything, but what if you do? You need something to take care of surprises they can throw at you. I mean, think about steel. If I came at you with a Kadabra right now what would you use against me?" Green said as they came out into the fresh air. Pikachu and Charmeleon followed lazily behind, Pikachu jumping around and making little "pika!" sounds as Charmeleon walked straight, his nose in the air. It seemed to be silently admonishing the electric rat for not being a bit more dignified.

Red thought about it seriously. "Ninjask. He's my fastest pokemon, and he hits pretty hard." He said confidently after a moment.

Nodding, Green conceded the point. "I was afraid you were gonna say Pikachu. When did you get a Ninjask?" She smiled.

Red laughed in a way that seemed just a bit pandering at the Pikachu joke. "Well, I caught Nincada in Viridian Forest. It evolved into Ninjask before we got to Mt. Moon."

"Did you capture Shedinja as well?" Green asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I've still got him here." Red said proudly, holding up a pokeball. "I'm saving him for the trading."

Green nodded encouragingly, and looked behind her for the first time in what she realized must have been fifteen minutes or more. Janine and Marta were talking, or more accurately Marta was talking and Janine was responding with one-word responses as she gazed lazily ahead. Green had a moment of renewed guilt before Red spoke.

"A pokemon!" he gasped as he pointed towards a shaking bush, which silenced at the sudden noise.

"Charmeleon!" Green barked, sending the lizard zooming towards the bush in a rush. It slashed viciously, sending leaves flying in a cloud. An Ekans reared back, hissing loudly at the sudden intrusion. "Dragon Rage!" Charmeleon's maw filled with white heat and it blew a line at the wild pokemon. Ekans tried to glare back, and it started to lunge, but Green's pokeball caught it on the nose. It didn't shake much before the light dimmed, and the ball disappeared.

"Congratulations! What did you catch?" Marta asked eagerly as her and Janine caught up.

"Ekans." Green said simply as she patted Charmeleon on the head. She grinned at the other two. "It's your turn if another pokemon comes up, girls."

Janine surprisingly smiled back. "If I catch something you like, just say so. I'd like an Ekans if you're not too attached."

Green smiled back, and she couldn't help but let a note of relief into her voice. "I'll be sure to do that." At least Janine wouldn't let this whole thing set off the atmosphere of the group forever. There was at least that.

The group continued on, and now it was like some unspoken taboo had been lifted. Once again they all spoke casually, and Green suspected that Marta had a bit of a discussion with Janine on the subject, something that made Green more grateful than she could say. When the group was challenged to a battle by a young couple, Janine even asked Green to fight with her. They fought with Zubat and Ralts, and won decisively. Even as Marta and Red congratulated them on the win, Green knew that the worst of the bad feelings was probably over.

Seeing that they still had a few hours before they needed to check in, they slowed down a bit on the way to Vermillion City, and now everyone had an eye out for wild pokemon. The group even separated a bit, scanning around hopefully whenever they encountered a tree or bush. Marta saw the first pokemon, and she threw a pokeball with an "eep!" at what turned out to be a Jigglypuff. Red caught a Meowth shortly after, and Janine even captured a Raticate that rushed out at her unexpectedly.

Everyone was in a generally good mood as they entered Vermilion City still a half hour earlier than expected, and instead of going for a late lunch headed quickly for the port instead. The line was a bit longer than expected, and there was a long period of time where they waited patiently in the slow-moving line as one group at a time was processed. Finally, as they got to the front amongst signs like 'all bags must be checked' and 'all dangerous items must be admitted to security.' The worker in the nice suit accepted the envelope Marta gave him solemnly, and viewed the tickets quietly for a moment. He perked up eagerly. "Ah, very good ma'am. Gentlemen?" he said, motioning to a few sailors who were standing about, moving bags. "Can you please help this young lady and her guests with their bags?" he asked the men politely as he handed them a small folded piece of paper.

As the sailors picked up their bags, the group had a moment to exchange a collective look of puzzlement. Nobody else in front of them had their bags carried up to the room, and everyone else had been treated with just a bit more cool disinterest. They had been treated like royalty in comparison.

Being led up through the ship by the two grumbling sailors, they got the opportunity to see a lot of the fineries the ship had to offer. A number of small food shops littered the place once they went below deck, and Green almost immediately saw sign pointing to what was called 'The Arena Deck' that made her eager to get down there. Following the sailors into an elevator, they all got a good look down at the people milling about below as it slowly went up. There were a number of people in nice dress clothes, but there were also plenty of people who looked grizzled, covered with the sweat and dirt of the road. For just a moment Green thought she could see a familiar shock of white hair down in the crowd, but then the doors of the elevator opened up with a *ding* and everyone was piling out, and by the time she looked back it was gone

Figuring that they must be on the wrong floor, because this whole hallway looked incredibly well-furnished, Green went along until they reached a door set into the left wall. The man in front put down Green's bag and opened the folded piece of paper he had been given, pulling out a small key card which he used to open the door wide.

As they stepped inside Green was prepared to admit that maybe she could allow herself to be pampered just a little bit. The main room was a large and plush one, with a long couch, small kitchen, flat TV set, computer in the corner and a basket of fresh fruit settled down on the counter. The door to the bathroom was even open, and they could all see the large gleaming tub. It could probably have fit all of them easily.

The men had put down their bags, and were turning a grin on the kids. "Well young masters, seein' as we got ya to your room I suppose we'd better be shovin' off. Just remember, no pokemon battlin' less ye're down on the Arena Deck in the proper areas. 'Sides that one minor rule, I trust young masters will have a wonderful stay" said the first man, as the two sailors grinned on cue and held out their hands for a tip.

"Yes indeed, thank you." Green said distractedly as she shoved them hastily out of the room, snatched the room keys out of the second sailor's hand and slammed the door. "I call the tub first!"

"This room is.... magnificent!" Marta said as she boggled at the kitchen. She opened the mini-fridge. "Oh my gosh, it's even fully stocked! I've got to write Bill a thank-you card at once!"

Green leaned in under Marta's arm and snagged a couple of beers with a delighted look on her face. "Yoink!" she came back for a jar of candy beans after a moment's pause, pushing aside a wide-eyed Red to enter the bathroom, already kicking off her shoes and whipping her belt off as she closed the door.

Green spent at least fifteen minutes in the bath, as she drank the beers languidly and let the tension seep away as the bubbling tub churned the foamy water around. The jellybeans were much better after the beers, and she happily snacked at them as she washed herself lazily. Finally, figuring that there would be plenty of time later for another bath, Green unwillingly pulled herself out and dried herself off. Even as Green entered the main room with a satisfied smile on her face, Janine swept past with a change of clothes, and the sound of rushing water filled the bathroom again. She walked easily over to the couch, sitting down in between Marta and Red as they flipped through the TV channels. The first few seemed to be dedicated to events on the ship, and there was a few minutes of comfortable silence as they all watched the events of the evening scroll past.

"Looks like the Arena Deck doesn't open until later on tonight. What is it anyhow?" Green asked curiously as she offered Marta the jar of candy beans.

Marta graciously took a few as she opened a booklet on the coffee table. "Serving your Pokemon fancies all throughout the cruise. Including six separate arenas, a trading bar, pokemon gift shop and of course the High Seas Tournament." she read in her pleasant voice.

"Tournament, eh?" Green said as she perked up. "So, they mention what the prize is?"

Smiling as she flipped to further in the book, Marta read for a moment. "A cash prize and a mystery pokemon. Oh, Green I hope you win. I'd love to see what the mystery pokemon is!" she exclaimed excitedly, dropping the booklet back onto the table. "I just know you're going to do great!"

Green couldn't help but smile back. "Well I'm going to have to try hard to beat you, right?"

Shaking her head, Marta picked up the booklet again and flipped to a new page. "I'm not as good at battling as you guys. There's a pokemon beauty contest on the Premier Deck though! I may enter Jeffy. There's a pokemon beauty center on another floor."

Thinking of what you'd do to a Gyarados to make it more presentable, Green got up to check the mini-fridge for more beer. Just one more, enough to enhance the good buzz she felt. There was a knock at the front door, and Green conscientiously put her beer out of sight before heading for the door. Marta somehow beat her to answering it, opening the door to a tall and smiling man in the crisp outfit complete with saber at the hip and white glossy hat that screamed captain. He even had a mustache you could lose loose change in. Green estimated his age at a glance to be late twenties, early thirties. He straightened up tall when he saw Marta. "Excuse me, miss! I'm just here to see you master Bill if you please? I heard the room had been occupied in the hour, and I do so love to see how the man is doing whenever he stops in. Ah, you must forgive me. I've been completely lacking in my manners, young lady. I am Captain Malcolm, the esteemed pilot of this cruiseliner." he said, bowing slightly.

Shaking her head, Marta spoke in a seriously regretful voice. "Oh, I'm very sorry but I'm afraid Bill isn't here. He just had an accident yesterday, and seeing as he was just put back into his body he gave us the tickets to the suite. I hope that's all right. I'm Marta, by the way." she said, flashing him one of her warm smiles.

The Captain looked crushed. "Oh, that's quite dreadful! I shall have to give him a call posthaste to see how he is faring!" his downcast look didn't last too long, because he turned a grin on Marta that made Green frown. His eyes roamed her body for a brief moment in a way Green had remembered doing as Rudolph, taking in the most of the body with a glance that might just have been you checking your own shoes or something. "Well, normally I ask Bill to dinner at the Captain's table the night of the departure. Perhaps you might consider joining me young lady?"

Marta's face fell, and she looked as if she didn't know what to say. She was apparently hesitant to turn down the captain of the ship, especially on such a kind offer. Then again guessing how much Marta seemed torn up about her boyfriend she probably didn't want to be drooled over by a man almost old enough to be her father.

Feeling unable for a moment to help Marta, Green finally thought of a way to assist her friend. She grabbed Marta's left arm with a big hug, and did her damnedest to look as cute as possible. "We'd love to go to dinner, wouldn't we, big sister?" she said, confident during every word that there must have been a better plan. Her lot was thrown, however. "Thank you, Captain!"

The Captain's face stiffened. He looked down at Green with an air of indifference. "And who is this… charming little young lady here?" he asked with a stiff smile.

"My name is Green, Mr. Condescending." Green replied at once, still in that cutesy voice.

Captain Malcolm nodded happily, but then frowned for a moment as if he had forgotten something. Obviously the man had reacted to the tone, not the words, and now his brain was rebuilding the sentence. He hesitated for a long moment before speaking further. "Yes, I suppose there's no harm in letting your sister come, of course." He said in a slightly annoyed tone of voice, which clashed with his normal calm and polite tone.

"And Janine and Red too right?" Green asked innocently as she looked up at the Captain. "They're our bestest friends! Why, we can't have the first meal on the ship without them!" she said, figuring that she may have overdone the sweetly innocent voice a bit.

The man turned a bit red in the face as Green grinned up at him. He glanced to Marta, who was smiling back in a vague sort of way. It was hard to guess what she was smiling at exactly. "Well… of course I'd never turn down the request of a lady." he mumbled as it became clear that the two smiling girls he was facing were not going to back down. He recovered his poise, and his face lost some of that red flush. "I shall be delighted if your entire group joins me in the Captain's Room of the ship's Crystal Dining Hall at eight this evening." and with another bow, the Captain turned and marched swiftly down the corridor.

After the door shut Green burst into laughter as she picked her beer back up and went to sit down on the couch next to Red. It had been mean picking on the guy like that, but he could take it. Plus, abusing the fact that she was an eleven year old now a little bit couldn't be so bad.

"Hey Green, there's also a doubles tournament later on in the tour!" Red said excitedly, showing Green the booklet Marta had been using earlier. "I was thinking… that might be fun right?" he hazarded.

The door to the bathroom opened before Green could answer, letting out a gush of steam and Janine, who was still toweling off her hair slowly. She was wearing a loose grey shirt and pants, and her bare feet flopped on the floor as she came over to the couch to sit between Green and Red with a sigh of huge relief. "Oh, that was wonderful. This is going to be a great trip. Who's got the tub next?"

"Yeah, I guess I'll get ready if we're gonna eat with the Captain!" Red said, looking disappointed as he got up and headed for the bathroom.

Janine looked intrigued, and didn't seem to notice Red's dampened spirits. "We're eating with the Captain tonight? How did that happen?"

In the kitchen, Marta paused in pouring herself a ginger ale to speak. "I think he was trying to ask me out." she said as she took a sip. "I was nervous I was going to have to eat with him alone, but Green invited everyone else." Marta sat down in Red's old spot and gave Green a proud smile that made her feel quite embarrassed. "Thank you for that, Green."

Janine narrowed her eyes, and there was a moment where she looked from Green to Marta, as if trying to decide how they were both thinking. Green decided to change the subject. "Well, thanks. Janine, are you looking forward to the tournament?" she asked, perhaps a bit too cheerily.

Shrugging, Janine plucked the booklet of events off the table. "I may be. I don't know, this mystery prize pokemon sounds interesting." she said as she flipped through the thing nonchalantly. "Hey, there's a doubles tournament. You want to join that with me?" Janine asked, glancing at Green.

Green nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. Red was just mentioning it earlier. Yeah, we should go and train after dinner tonight. I need to get ready for the ship tournament anyhow." she responded casually, and couldn't help noticing that Janine brightened up considerably.

"So, we have dinner with the Captain tonight, eh? Nice dress then?" Janine asked casually as she stretched out languidly.

Marta nodded, looking excited. "Yes, I have a dress I brought just in case! What do you think you're going to wear?"

Janine considered for a few minutes. "Well… I do have a dress in storage I could get out I suppose. My old kimono." she said doubtfully.

Clapping excitedly, Marta looked as if her birthday had come early. "Oh, I know you'll look great! We should do something with your hair! Green, what are you going to wear?"

Feeling her eyes flick to her bag, Green stopped and thought that she had never really explored the clothes in the bag. There had been an extra pairs of pants and more underwear and suchlike, and since there had been a washer practically every ether night there's been no pressing need to delve into the rest of the packed cloth. She was sure there had been a skirt in there somewhere like a clothing landmine. "I don't know. I guess I'll have to check."

"Well, it's almost four right now. The Captain said to be there at eight, so why don't we take a walk around the ship for a bit after I take a bath, and then we can get dressed for the party! We should probably also claim rooms, come to think of it." Marta said, excitedly bustling around the room to grab her things before heading to one of the two doors set on the back wall.

Opening the first, they saw a nice little room with a view of the ocean. Two beds sat in the room at opposite corners. The second, to their dismay, had one large king-sized bed. There was a moment of frowning uncertainty as the problem was assessed.

"Well, I guess I'll just sleep on the couch or something." Green said. "There's gotta be extra blankets or something."

Both of the other girls frowned. "I'd feel awkward if you had to sleep on the couch and one of us gets that huge bed." Marta said doubtfully.

Janine nodded. "Well, I suppose two of us will just have to share the large bed," she said, and Green wasn't sure she trusted the grin on her face.

Nodding, Marta reached down and grabbed Green's hand. "Well, I suppose I won't mind. We technically did sleep together once after all. Let's go look through your clothes, Green!" she said, pulling Green behind her as Janine glared after them.

The next few minutes was spent sorting through the clothes. It looked at first like she had nothing dressy, but then with a sinking feeling Green saw Marta pull out a pink skirt. Tasteful white lace and a bit of dark red silk made it look like a particularly expensive cupcake. Even as Green heard herself weakly saying that she didn't have a shirt to go with it, Marta unearthed a white blouse and a pair of shoes with a triumphant smile. Even Green had to grudgingly admit it was the dressiest thing in the bag, and search though she tried she couldn't find anything a bit manlier. As Marta gathered up her things and went to bathe, Green thanked her lucky star that she didn't have to get in the cursed thing right away.

Green went out into the main room and sat down next to a scowling Janine as she flipped through the channels. Red was in the kitchen, searching through the pantries for a bowl which he used to pour himself some cereal. "Hey Red, where do you want to go when we walk the ship before dinner?"

He considered it slowly as he sliced a banana into his meal. "The Arena Deck." he said simply as he finished, and sat down on the couch.

"Aren't you going to ruin your appetite?" Janine asked casually as Red tore into the bowl. He preferred to ignore the question, finishing the flaked cereal quickly and downing the milk inside with every sign of enjoyment.

By the time Marta came out of the shower the three of them had all let some of their pokemon out in boredom. Ralts, Oddish and Pikachu were apparently playing some sort of undefined game of tag that they all just seemed to understand. Pikachu would touch Oddish, and both Pikachu and Ralts would shriek happily and run away from Oddish, who would chase them around until he bumped into one of the others. Then the touched pokemon would be it. Pikachu was best at the game, but he also game the other two pokemon a bigger head start. Marta smiled at the game, and wordlessly tossed a pokeball down as well as she took a moment from combing her hair. Jigglypuff appeared, looked at the other pokemon curiously, and sung until they all fell asleep. Then it went to sleep with a satisfied smile.

"Well that was fun." Green said as she returned Ralts. "So, let's go! I wanna see this arena deck."

Freshly clean, the group all headed out once Green had passed out the keys. They all got the chance to properly admire the décor of the ship on this trip. Once they reached the elevator they could even hear soft music floating up over the balcony edge, barely audible over the bustling of the crowd down below. As they rode down the slow, golden elevators they all found themselves watching something down below with an eager eye. Getting off the elevator, they spent at least a half hour walking down the main promenade, looking into the small but packed stores and into the small bars and food stores. People all around them were in a state of pleasant relaxation, and the sheer tide of positive empathy cheered Green up more than she could imagine. By the time they had gone from one end to the other, they were all exhausted from pushing through the sheer wall of wanderers, so they went down the Arena Deck by way of another elevator.

This floor, while not nearly as packed, nevertheless felt like it was buzzing with energy. While most of the people on the promenade had been dressed in nice clothing, or at least in normal clothing, the people down here looked dressed in every conceivable type of clothing. Just at a glance she saw people in heavy parkas, wearing mining gear or dressed in the red leather that marked them as a pokemon ranger. People also had pokemon out here, and all sorts were roaming behind trainers as they milled about. There were large double doors leading into what was called "The Battle Coliseum," but they looked firmly shut. There was also a large bar called "Interchange", which looked to be a modern art-style bar where people were sitting around, casually talking and sipping at coffee mugs or beer bottles. Even as Green watched two people, who each had a few pokeballs out, traded pokeballs after entering some information on their pokedexes. There were a couple of shops next to the bar, each focusing on pokemon accessories, and there was even a sandwich shop across the walkway called "Roly Poliwhirl" that was already serving a busy clientele. Next to the shop along the wall were PCs, each shining blue in the lights flashing down from the high roof here.

"Wow, this is awesome!" Red cried in amazement, releasing Ivysaur with a pleased look on his face. "Let's see if we can sign up for the tournament, Green!"

Releasing Breloom after a moment's hesitation, Green followed along after Red's quickly retreating form, motioning for Marta and Janine to follow. They all made their way through the churning crowd, following Red as they made their way to the large double doors, where most of the people seemed to be clustered. They saw why at once, because a small circle was open in front of the doors. On each there was a long sheet of paper, with a box full of pencils affixed on the divider between the doors. Red turned back to the girls and grinned widely. He broke through the wall of people and walked confidently to the doors.

Three men, all standing the closest to the door, closed in on Red at once. They all wore cheap black suits and had pokeballs on their belts, and they all looked at least six feet tall. Red halted against the sudden wall of black cloth. The only man with sunglasses, who was also the man in the front, adjusted them absentmindedly with one hand as he placed the other on Red's shoulder. "Hey there, boy. I think you were planning on turning back now that you've seen what the competition looks like, right?" he asked, in such an innocently casual voice that you might miss the fact that his hand was squeezing Red's shoulder tightly all of a sudden.

As Red's face twitched with the pain, Green could hear the snickering of many people in the crowd all around them. Frowning, Green could see that the tournament list already had a fair amount of people. Apparently people didn't care about some thugs if they were already signed up. Sweeping the crowd around her to the left and right with her eyes, Green could make out a few people with uncomfortable looks on their faces as they watched the exchange. From behind her Green felt Marta and Janine surge forward to help Red, but Green held them back. "Hey, I think Red's got this under control. Get ready to jump in if those thugs do. Got that, Breloom?" everyone nodded, and Breloom's eyes snapped to the two thugs standing behind their apparent leader. Its tail swished back and forth slowly as it narrowed its eyes.

"I think I'm very good, thank you. Please let go of my shoulder. I need that arm to sign the paper." Red said evenly, looking the man square in the eye as he spoke.

The man laughed, and looked behind him at his two grinning stooges. "Hey, this kid thinks I'm going to let go of his-" he began, but stopped as Ivysaur lashed out with a vine and caught the man's wrist. It jerked the hand violently off Red, and with a "Saur!" Ivysaur threw the man backwards at his friends, who caught him with an awkward two-person catch that sent them all sprawling.

The men had just got up, and the leader was still looking for his sunglasses as they turned to glare at Red, who was already signing up for the single person tournament. They glanced down nervously at Ivysaur, who was moving two vines around menacingly in front of him, ready to whip. "We got pokemon too, you know! We're gonna make you pay for that!" the leader yelled as they all pulled out pokeballs, and he screamed out loud in frustration. "Where are my damn sunglasses?!"

As the three men threw out pokeballs, Breloom was already leaping to land beside Ivysaur. The two glared back at the sudden Sentret, Magby and Glameow that appeared there. There was a quiet moment as Green broke away from the crowd, with Janine and Marta coming out shortly behind. Green was sure she could hear snickering in the audience again as the men glared daggers at her. She was wearing the sunglasses cockily on top of her head. For the audience, the joke had been flipped, but this way it was funnier.

"Give me those, you little *****! I'm gonna tear yo-" the man began to yell, until a sudden sharp voice cut him off.

"You there! I hope you're not having an illegal pokemon battle AND slandering a young girl in THIS place!" yelled a booming voice that made nearly everyone jump, including the battle-ready pokemon. Through the crowd came a tall, bronzed and beefy man who was naked to the waist. He wore loose white pants fastened with a black cloth belt, and while he had no shoes he wore thick metal cuffs on his wrists. His hair was long, and a wild brown. Turning a glare around at the silent group around the door, he scowled. "What is going on?" he asked Janine, looking to her suddenly with a very serious expression.

"Hey look we were just talkin' to this kid and he went and…" said the man who lost his glasses, speaking fast and urgently.

"I did not ask for your story!" he snapped, glaring the man into silence.

"Who's that?" Green whispered to Marta.

Marta smiled down at her. "It's Bruno, of the Elite Four. He's the guest judge of the tournament this year. It's more of our good luck."

"Well sir these three men tried to scare this kid here into not joining the tournament." Janine said calmly.

Green saw the three men turn pale and begin sweating as Bruno turned to them slowly, cracking his neck. "I see. What do you have to say in response to this?"

Before the men could answer the Glameow, who had been hissing softly at Bruno ever since he walked up, sprung at his leg with a snarl. There was a moment where it looked as if the man was going to get bitten, but his hand lashed out and caught the thing on the side of the head, sending it flying towards the doors. It lay there, making soft mewling noises as it curled into a ball. "I am very sorry about that. I tend to react on instinct. Now, it seems to me that the three of you should return your pokemon and erase your names from the tournament list." Bruno said evenly, his tone emotionless.

The men glared back, but eventually they all returned their pokemon without a word, and one of the men solemnly went to the list and scratched out a few names. They left without another word.

"My name is Bruno. I will be judging the tournament, as well as attempting to keep an eye on things going on here. I have a room in the back of the sandwich shop to be near the action, and it's so small believe me I shall be out and about as much as possible. Now, sign up for the tournament if you want. I will know if there's more disturbances." He said again in his even voice, then turned and marched off without another word.

"Wow!" said Marta, looking blown away as if she had seen royalty. The other three were not as concerned, and Green was already scribbling her name on the sign-up sheet for the tournament.

"Hey Green? Remember the doubles tournament? Well, I was figuring that…" Red said quietly to Green as she wrote her name in the circle of quickly depleting silence caused by the trainer's wake.

"Green!" said Janine cheerily from the other door, making them all look over. "I signed us up for the doubles! Could you sign me up over there?"

"Sure!" Green said, signing Janine's name below hers with a moment's hesitation. She placed the pencil back, and turned to Red as people began closing in to sign their names. "What were you talking about, Red? The doubles tournament?"

Red rocked on the spot, looking conflicted. Finally, he shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Just wondering who you were teaming with." He said jovially, waving the comment away.

"Well, look who it is. Good to know I'll be fighting a couple of girls in the tournament." said a familiar and supremely boastful voice from beside them. Both Green and Red whipped around and saw Blue standing there, glancing at the list on the doors with a faraway look.

"We'll see who's laughing when the tournament ends! I've gotten a lot stronger than last time!" Red said back evenly, placing a hand on Ivysaur's head.

Blue looked down as Wartortle wandered up, and smirked. "Red, as far as I'm concerned until you man up Green is my only real opponent. Green, if we fight in the tournament you'd better be ready. We discussed the terms last time."

"I'll be ready." Was all Green said, though she wanted to shout obscenities. She opted for calm and cool. Breloom flicked its fail slowly as it watched Wartortle, who didn't look remotely intimidated by the taller pokemon.

Blue snorted, and turned to leave. Wartortle smirked and followed too, making a face at Breloom before it scampered off.

As Breloom fumed, Green snorted at Blue's retreating back. "Ah, screw him. We'll beat him for sure if he manages to make it through the tournament anyhow. Hey, let's go and check out the trading bar!" she said to Red, heading off after Marta and Janine who were already heading there. Red followed after a moment's hesitation.

Their excursion of the rest of the ship wasn't as eventful. The deck below the Arena Deck turned out to be the Relaxation Deck, 'Where People and Pokemon get Pampered!' said a sign. The floor has some people wandering to see the sights, but none of the shops were open. The dining halls were nearly empty of people and certainly empty of food, and by the time they had seen the various entertainments such as the casino they couldn't enter they had all worked up quite an appetite.

They finally went to their room, and everyone threw themselves into chairs even as Green collapsed on the floor, and enjoyed the feel of the soft carpet. "I'm so hungry… can't we just order food to be delivered here?"

Marta scowled down at her. "No, we certainly cannot. That would be very rude. It's almost seven thirty, we should probably get ready in about a half hour."

Green looked put upon. "Wha? But hey, we're not going to go out early, are we?"

Smiling, Marta looked at Green like she was crazy. "Of course we are! We need to give ourselves time to get there, and I'd like to go out on the deck now that the sun's gone down. We could get some drinks and watch as Vermillion disappears!" said Marta, already in a world of her own.

"Where are we going, anyhow?" Green asked curiously. "I mean, we can't be going far right?"

"I'm pretty sure that the cruise only goes from here to Olivine and back again. It's a short trip, really." said Janine casually from a chair near the bedroom doors. "Short and decadent."

With a grunt, Green sat up. "Johto? We're going to Johto?"

"Well it's not really that far away. Not like it's Hoenn." Janine said casually.

"Maybe we can get off and look around Olivine while we're there." said Marta with an offhanded tone to her voice as she looked out of the window. She was still thinking of that night.

As Green considered the possibilities of what they could do at Olivine, it eventually came around to that time when they had to change. Grumbling, Green eventually was persuaded to go and put on her nice clothes by Marta. Rudolph remembered when he was a kid and his parents would make him dress up for church. This felt a bit like that, as Green put on an outfit that felt wrong to her. The skirt didn't go down far enough to cover the bottom of her legs, and she had the bizarre feeling of air all the way up her unclothed thighs. The worst part, however, was coming out with the thing on and having Marta squeal that she looked adorable. Green stood there without her hat as Marta bustled around her, checking the outfit to make sure everything was in place.

"I think I have a ribbon you can wear in your hair too!" Marta was saying with what should have been, in Green's opinion, an illegal amount of excitement. "I'm going to go get changed right now."

"No, I'm drawing the line at the bow in my hair." Green said firmly. "I'm only keeping the dress on until I get back from the dinner tonight." She plopped down on the couch next to Red, who was already dressed in khaki pants and a nice, button-down red shirt. His hat was missing and he looked just as awkward and out of place as Green felt.

Smiling weakly at Green, Red spoke up. "Hey, you look nice. I haven't seen you in a skirt in a while."

"I don't wear skirts unless I can possibly help it." She said through clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly and then smiled at Red. "Sorry I'm not angry at you. I'm not big into skirts anymore. Where's Janine anyhow?"

Red smiled back a bit warily. "She's getting changed in our room. Um… I didn't know I'd be staying with her." He said, in a hesitant way that told Green he had been decided to even bring this up or not.

"Do you not like Janine?" Green asked curiously.

"No, no, it's not that of course. She's nice and all… I've just never stayed in the same room as a girl before."

Green nodded. "Well, you were going to sleep in the pokemon center back at Mt. Moon and there were girls there?"

"That's different. I was in there when Janine told me to get out… she started to take off her shirt…" he trailed off, blushing hugely as he looked away from Green.

It took Green a moment to understand. She kept forgetting Red was eleven. He'd probably never seen a pair of bare tits before, let alone some girl with her shirt fully off. Young Rudolph had seen nude women at eleven, but then again Young Rudolph had been a bit of a perverted weirdo kid that had discovered the joys of Playboy perhaps too early in the back of his father's closet. "Well, I'm sure it won't be so bad. It's only for a few nights, after all."
Green said as cheerily as she could manage. Red nodded glumly.

Marta came out first, dressed in a sleek black dress that hugged her form well, and cut along the right leg. Her dark green hair was up in a bun, and her glasses sat atop it. She blushed and asked softly, "how do I look?"

Green gave her a big thumbs up and a smile. "You look great. It compliments your figure."

Nodding vaguely, Red blinked at Marta. "Yeah, you look real pretty!" he chimed in with a stupid grin on his face. Green couldn't help but grin too at his reaction. Marta certainly had some impressive measurements, and this dress did nothing but accentuate them. Judging from the way Marta blushed a deeper red, she wasn't too comfortable with people noticing her in that way.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Janine came out of the other room before they could comment further. Her hair was teased up in a stylish way, but her kimono was what really drew the eye. It was a beautiful white and purple affair with blue designs all throughout. She turned on the spot to show everyone. "What do you think? My dad got it for me last year." She shuffled her feet, which were fitted with a pair of raised wooden shoes.

"It's magnificent. You wear it very well." Green said graciously, giving her a warm smile. Janine locked eyes and smiled back.

"Yeah, it's a neat robe!" said Red encouragingly with a nod.

Janine glared at him for a moment before turning to the other two. "Well, are we going to go above for some drinks and one last view at land or what?" she asked the room brightly.

Getting onto the deck wasn't too hard. The guests had finally started to filter out into the ship as a whole, and getting from point A to B wasn't so much of an issue anymore. There were a fair amount of people clustered about, getting drinks and snacks from two bars set up on the deck. Green quickly went over and snatched a few mixed drinks, and scurried back to the group before anyone could comment. Giving one to Marta, Janine and Red each, Green had a moment to drain half her drink in one go. "Ah, must be pineapple juice. Excellent."

As the girls drank, Red looked curiously at his own drink. He sipped it curiously as he followed along to a nice position to view the ocean, and the twinkling lights that was all that could be seen of Vermillion City. There was a few minutes of calm silence except for the gentle splashing of the ship and the murmur of voices around them.

"Marta? Is that YOU Marta?" came a high, jovial voice from behind their group. They all turned to see a young man about an inch or two shorter than Marta in a crisp dark blue suit. He had skin even more bronzed than she did, and his hair was pure black. Framing his brown eyes were a pair of gleaming gold rimmed glasses. He walked up to their group evenly and smiled all around before focusing on her evenly. "How have you been? I heard you had travelled to Pewter. I admit I am surprised to see you out here on the high seas."

"Francis!" Marta gasped, and looking over to her Green could see a blush rise to her cheeks. One arm contentiously covered her cleavage. "Yes, I've been fine! We got tickets for the ship from a friend that we helped out."

"I see! What floor are you on?" Francis asked eagerly, and smiled wide as Marta read it off to him. "Why that's fantastic! We're on the same floor! I must stop by to say hello at some point!"

Marta's astonished look had turned into one of skeptical hope, but now it fell into a frown. "We?"

Francis turned around as a woman walked up behind him and offered him a glass of champagne. "Oh. I suppose I should have mentioned. I was sure I had. At any rate this is Marie" he said, and he must have realized he finished a bit lamely because he diverted his eyes from Marta and looked to Marie to clink glasses before they drank.

Green eyed Marie disdainfully. She was eyeing Marta up like a cat, and her smirk at Marta's discomfort was enough to send Green's teeth grinding. Marie was, without a doubt, older than Marta. While Marta looked her perky 18 or so years of age Marie looked as if she was at least 25. She had the fair skin and shining auburn hair of someone who has never done a moment of work in her life. She had a bottle in the hand not holding her champagne flute, held loosely.

"I see." Marta said quietly after the long pause, and her voice sounded flat and wavering. Green thought she looked about to cry at any moment.

"Are you entered in the tournament tomorrow? I heard Marta say you were quite the battler." Green found herself asking, moving herself smoothly between Marta and Francis.

Francis smiled down at her evenly just as Marie scowled at her, and there was a moment of polarity so strong Green couldn't help smile. "Yes I am, young lady. I hear the prize pokemon may be an Eevee, and I do need a Vaporeon for my team. Why do you ask?"

"I wanna make you a bet. If I get further than you in the tournament then you have to apologize to Marta. A real apology, on your knees and everything." Green snapped, her anger magnifying as each word only widened the grin on Francis' face.

He shook off Marie and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Can I then choose the stakes if I get further in the tournament?" he asked, and not seeing any objections went on. "If I win then you have to lick my shoes clean." Francis said, and there was a wicked, challenging look in the eyes behind the glasses now.

"Ok… that's fine with me." Green said, a bit weirded out by the suggestion.

"Of course we also have to wear the same clothes as today…" Francis went on evenly, tapping his chin.

Green went white. "What?"

"I just want to get my shoes a bit of dust on them, you see." He said, and glanced at Marie with a faint smile before continuing. "And of course if I'm going to have you lick my boots I want you doing it in that delicious little outfit, miss…?"

Marie shrieked with laughed as if Francis had said the most amusing thing possible, and Green was suddenly the one who was blushing. "Green. In that case you have to lick my shoes if I win too. It's only fair." Green added, a bit weakly in the circumstance.

"If you'd like. It'd be a pleasure if you managed to get that far." Francis said evenly, and wrapped an arm around Marie's waist. "Come. Let's retire to the room. We'll order in tonight."

"Of course dear." Marie purred back, and her voice was deep and sexy. It even made Green shiver with goose bumps. Part of Green couldn't blame Francis for going with this chick. Her body was frankly smokin' and Green didn't need to see the faint line of a g-string through the dress to tell her that this girl was probably a bit of a ****. Marta was indeed beautiful but she didn't have the mentality to be sexy, and Green guessed that she probably didn't put out easily. Marie was practically humping his leg. "Let's get an extra bottle of champagne and some seafood." She said as she turned to look at Marta. With a thrust, Marie passed over the bottle. Marta took it numbly. "Why not drink a little, dear. On us." She said with a wry smile.

The two wandered off through the crowd, and those same shrieking laughs came from their direction. Green turned to look at Marta, who was looking after them with tears sliding down her face and her shoulders heaving with the withheld sobs. Green wrapped her arms around Marta and just held her for a few minutes, gently taking the bottle from her hand and placing it on the ground gently as Marta cried. Green looked over at Janine, who looked sympathetic, and Red, who looked a bit bewildered but mostly angry. "Marta, Green, I promise if I fight him I will not lose." He promised, glaring at the place in the crowd where he had disappeared off to.

Janine patted Marta on the shoulder. "He was an *******, girl! You're better off without him." She said gently, giving it a squeeze.

Smiling at Red for a moment with weary eyes, Green finally got Marta back to a steady state with whispered words of comfort and gentle rubs on the back. At last Marta was pushing gently away from Green and wiping her eyes with her hand. "Thank you. I'm just a big baby when it comes down to it. I know I shouldn't care. That was our old substitute teacher from back at our last year at finishing school" she said shyly, saying this last part as if it was no big deal.

The three of them stared at her. "She what? Are you telling me some teacher checked out a 17-year old rich kid and waited a year until he matured? And now she's riding him out, pretty much literally?" Green asked, watching Marta's face carefully.

Marta's face twitched, and she looked annoyed. "Well, now that you say it like that… yes. Yes! That's exactly what it's like. That's exactly what's it's like! Why that little…!" she yelled, balling her hands into fists.

Green patted her on the shoulder, and picked up the bottle of champagne with the other hand. "Well, I think we have a way to get over it. Looks pretty expensive" she said calmly, taking Marta's glass and filling it up.

Marta hesitated, but as Green filled both her own glass as well as Janine's and even Red's after it was proffered a couple of times to the hesitant boy, they all drank the fizzy liquid. Everyone sat for a moment, letting the stuff slide into their bellies, and then Green poured another round.

As they threw the bottle away and headed inside and towards their dinner, the champagne had certainly lightened the mood. They all walked with high spirits, and Marta was even giggling a bit at the small jokes Green threw out. Once they reached the Crystal dining room they were led to the Captain's dining hall, and going inside they found a wonderful table set for six. They all took the four seats along the sides of the oval-shaped table, leaving the head and foot of the table open. They didn't have to wait long until the Captain came in, going over maps with one of the sailors before dismissing him, and sitting down with a smile at his guests. To his right was Marta, with Green next to her, and to his left Red with Janine next to him. He smiled over at Marta with an expression of eager anticipation. "Ah, young lady. You look quite exquisite this eve. I do hope you don't mind, but I invited someone to dine with us tonight" he said, nodding at her. "Perhaps we can peruse the menu as we wait."

A waiter came smoothly out of a door in the side wall, which was a smooth blue sliding door. He passed out menus, and took drink orders from the rest of the table before coming up to the Captain. "Ah, of course. Please, take out one of the bottles off my personal rack. Miss, would you like a drop of wine?" he asked in a husky voice.

Marta looked good natured, and smiled. "Oh, sure! I'll try some wine!" she said with a carefree attitude, and as the waiter zoomed off Green found herself frowning at the triumphant expression on the Captain's face.

A knock at the door of the dining room put the Captain on his feet. Taking off his hat and smoothing down his hair, he wandered to the door into the dining room and paused to study himself in the mirror before he went to open the door. Green had expected to see Bruno there, but instead she was surprised to see a tall woman with pale blue hair pulled up to frame her face well. She took off a cape, which the captain took graciously, and entered the room quietly as she took her chair. The woman was wearing a tight blue outfit with large black shoulder pads that looked oddly out of place on her slender form. She nodded at the Captain as he sat down, and glanced around the table. Her eyes locked on Green's, and there was a moment where the two stared at each other. She looked away to gaze loftily around the table. "Greetings. I am Dragon Master Clair, Gym Leader of Jhoto's Blackthorn Gym. I apologize for interrupting such an… intimate little gathering" she said with a brittle smile that told the room she didn't find anything funny.

The Captain laughed faintly as he sat down in his spot. "Yes, well, it turns out that Bill has been taken ill, and so I invited his young guests to a dinner. I do apologize if it seems rather informal. I am Captain Malcolm, and I…"

"Not at all. I love dining with any group of ragamuffins you'd care to bring along." Clair said with such sarcastic cheerfulness that it made Green flinch and glare directly at her.

Green got up out of her seat, never losing eye contact. The Captain watched in horror, as if watching his career soaring out the window. "Excuse me, but if I've got to dine with this **** I don't think I've even got an appetite" she said, making sure not to blink.

Clair watched for a long minute as the room stayed quiet. Finally, as Green was beginning to feel her eyes dry out, Clair smiled hugely. "I'm impressed. Nobody usually says anything. It's quite boring. What's your name?"

"Green" said Green, feeling as if the conversation had taken a sudden turn from a dangerous alley onto a sunny freeway unexpectedly.

"Green. Tell me about yourself, Green. Are you a Pokemon Trainer?" Clair asked, clasping her hands as she rested her hands on them. She looked intrigued.

The desire to be an ******* slipped away as part of Green went into auto-pilot. That suddenly questioning look on Clair's face had thrown her off. She sat back down as her drink was brought, and she answered evenly. "Yes, I've got two badges. I'm going for three when we get back."

"How wonderful! You must have just turned eleven, maybe twelve? My, I can remember those times." Clair said fondly as she accepted a menu from the waiter without even looking at him. "You must tell me of your team."

"I must recommend the boiled Shellder! It happens to be my favorite dish on the menu" said the Captain suddenly in a voice that was trying to be jovial while also trying to steer the conversation back. The glare he received back from Janine and Green silenced him, and he spent the rest of the time trying to converse with a reluctant Marta while Green and Janine laughed and whispered together.

As they waited for their meals, Green found herself in a rapt conversation with the Jhoto Gym Leader, who just couldn't seem to get enough of what Green had to say. Every now and then the Captain would interject a comment, only to get a dry, one-word response from Clair. When the bottle of wine came to the table Green thought she was going to have to watch and make sure Marta didn't drink a lot, but it turned out that Clair helped out with that too. She requested the bottle, and poured herself a generous helping. Unlike Marta, who sipped at hers, Clair attacked her glass even as they got their salads. By the time she was done her first glass her salad was only half done.

Captain Malcolm excused himself after his salad to see to a matter with the ship. Clair watched him leave, and smiled at Green wickedly. "So, tell me. Why are you really here anyhow? Not that I'm not enjoying this of course."

"Well, he was trying to wave his pickle at my friend Marta here, so I pulled the whole cute thing until he was guilted into inviting us." Green said, motioning to Marta who smiled in a bashful way and nodded.

Clair's laughter made her put her glass down for a moment as her shoulders shook. "Delightful! Oh, I've been very rude. Your friends look bored!"

Following Clair's gaze Green saw Red put aside his pokedex. He looked annoyed for a moment, as if something was playing on his mind. Janine looked a bit more polite about her boredom, but it was obvious that they had been ignoring the rest of Green's group. "Hey, I never introduced my friends! This is Red, Janine and of course Marta. We're all going for the pokemon league challenge."

Clair nodded all around at them all, and smiled wanly. "I'm sorry I'm monopolizing your friend here. I just get so… tired with these stupid official dinners. They're so boring. It's nice to have someone who talks plainly to you. Being a Gym Leader and a Dragon Master means I'm never left alone, especially here" she said a bit bitterly as she downed her glass, and motioned for the bottle to be passed over. Green handed it over, and Clair eagerly poured herself another glass. "I have to be leaving sometime tomorrow. As soon as we're in flying distance of Blackthorn in fact. I'm glad I got eat dinner with your group here. Normally I try being as much of a nuisance as possible because it's the only way to have any fun at these dinners."

Nodding, Green didn't say anything. She had found it was the best way. Clair had a lot to talk about and ask, and Green got the feeling she didn't speak to many people very often. She didn't talk like someone who was desperate for company however; instead she simply spoke continuously, like she hadn't found anyone to talk these things over with until now.

Shortly after the Captain got back the food finally came. Everyone looked to have ordered a different dish, and after watching the Captain put his fork to his food everyone else seemed to have been given the a-ok. Everyone tucked into their food, the Captain scowling down at his plate as Clair included everyone else at the table in her talk now.

It was about halfway through the meal when the first incident occurred. The Captain was enjoying his Shellder most emphatically when suddenly there was a rumbling from his stomach that was so loud it made everyone pause in their meals. He smiled, and with a hand to his stomach apologized. "You must forgive me, I seem to have quite the noisy stomach at the moment" he said casually as he wiped his sweating forehead with his handkerchief.

Ten minutes later there was a grumbling that had a definite watery edge to it. The Captain groaned. Everyone looked at each other a bit nervously, and edged their chairs away from him slightly. The man was sweating like he was in a sauna now, and his face had taken on the waxy pallor of someone near death. He managed to look up at them all, and smiled weakly. "Um… if you'll excuse me… I think I must retire. I… oh my." The last words were followed by a gout of vomit so sudden and intense that everyone barely got out of their seats in time.

Clair was the only person who stayed seated, and it splattered far from her plate. Nevertheless, with a scowl, she took out her napkin, dabbed at her lips and sighed. "Well this dinner is over then."

"Is there no chance at all of a dessert or something?" said Red in a disappointed voice as he looked at his puke-covered steak.

"Sidney!" yelled the Captain, slumping back in his chair and covering his eyes. "Gods damn you Sidney you get in here right now and you bring me more pills!" he bellowed, turning to the side and throwing up again.

A tall, lanky sailor came in and paled at the spectacle before him. "Oh my, Captain! I thought you had your condition under control!"

"Well, this was fun but we really must be going." Green said as fast as she could as she pushed everyone towards the door. "Please do tell us if you feel better!" She didn't stop pushing until everyone was outside, and Green slammed the door with a sigh of relief. "Wow, what a downward slide."

Clair snorted. "The old fool takes pills for his seasickness. Judging from the comments in there he probably forgot them or mixed up his dosage I'll wager." She turned and smiled down at Green impishly. "Well, since I now have time to kill, could I ask you a favor?"

Nodding slowly, Green's brow furrowed as she considered. "Of course. What's up?"

Turning away with a smile, Clair led them out of the Crystal Dining Room, where people were already whispering and looking towards the Captain's dining hall as faint curses wafted through the air.

She led them out and down some hallways, eventually coming to a door that she opened with a card down a corridor not far from the promenade. Inside was a room much smaller than theirs, but still elegant. Judging from the nice furniture and prime location, Green guesses this was probably a room reserved in case individuals like Clair showed up demanding a room for the night. She seemed like the kind of woman that would have one hell of a temper if she was told she'd have to sleep in a back room like Bruno.

Turning around to face Green, she crossed her arms stubbornly and planted her feet. "Show me your best pokemon. If it's too big to fit the room just say so."

Flummoxed, Green silently released Charmeleon, who looked around curiously until meeting Clair's eyes. The two had a bit of a staring match for a moment, and then Clair reached out and grabbed Charmeleon's head in one hand and used the other to pull the gums up a bit. Charmeleon started to thrash but Clair whispered something soft and soothing into its ear, calming it down and letting her finish the checkup.

Clair finally got up with a nod, and gave Charmeleon a treat. "I'm very impressed. Your Charmeleon is in excellent health. Fit as a fiddle" she went on evenly as she rummaged in a bag. "I had hardly any doubts, but I had to make sure. Green, I want to give you something."

Boggling at this bizarre generosity, Green could only blink in confusion as Clair took out an egg the size of a basketball, pulled into an oval shape. She hefted it for a moment, and then handed it to Green. "Obviously, it's an egg. I received it from a friend in Mauville City. I just don't have time to watch over eggs at the moment. There's a slew of duties to take care of back home. Why don't you take care of it for me? If you don't mind that is."

Taking the egg eagerly, Green grinned widely at Clair. "Of course not! Thanks! Um, why are you entrusting me with this though?"

"You remind me of myself at your age. You have such passion in your actions! Your Charmeleon is also incredibly loyal. Most probably would have tried to bite at once when I checked their teeth, but yours only tried to pull away, and relented when she saw that you were alright with me." Clair explained.

There was a compliment that went almost completely over Green's head as she latched onto a fact. "Charmeleon's a girl?!"

Charmeleon turned a severe look on Green, and Clair burst out laughing again. "I suppose I'm not surprised. I guess that was the last thing on your mind, right?"

Turning a sheepish look to Charmeleon, Green shrugged helplessly. "It never crossed my mind I guess. She was juat always dependable. Plus, how can you even check that?" Green asked, looking puzzled.

Patting Green gently on the shoulder, Clair led her back to her friends who were all clustered around the door. "I'm sure there's something on your pokedex that could help you. I know we'll meet again!" Clair shook Green's hand, and smiled coldly this time. "If you come to challenge my Gym in Blackthorn, I will not take it easy on you. I hope that both of you ladies do not give me measure to doubt you" she said softly, and with a nod to both Green and Charmeleon turned back towards the door. "I must prepare for the flight tomorrow morning. I will send word along that the Captain has taken ill."

"I'm not going to disappoint you at all, you know. Even considering that I might would just be foolish. The next time you see me you won't even recognize me." Green said in a cool and level voice that felt completely true to her.

Clair made eye contact before she shut the door. "I certainly hope so."

The rest of the night turned out to be far less exciting. News of the Captain's illness had spread throughout the ship, and now people were adding in details in the way of gossipers. "Have you heard that he's had to be airlifted out?" and "Did you hear he coughed up a *organ*?" were among two of the most popular questions they were asked, though just as many people seemed to discount the story of the sickness as a tall tale. While waiting in the elevator to get back to their room one old woman said how she heard the captain just had a touch of diarrhea, and how it was terrible the rumors being spread on the ship.

Once they all got back to the room there was a bit of time spent simply admiring the egg. It was a light brown, like those farm-grown eggs one would buy at the store. After Green and Janine had changed into their sleeping clothes they all spent some time excitedly guessing what lay inside, but after a little while of discussion Marta began drifting off to sleep even as she tried to follow the conversation. Taking this as a good excuse to go to bed, Green gently led a dozing Marta to their room as she waved good night to Red and Janine. Charmeleon lifted her head to follow Green for a moment, but laid back down after a moment's hesitation.

As Green closed the door behind them, Marta sighed and turned her back to Green. "Could you please unzip this for me?" she asked, motioning to her dress.

Green hesitated, but just for a moment. She came over, grabbed the zipper and helped Marta slide her dress off. Marta stretched there in her pink matching bra and panties for a moment, and then climbed into bed with a satisfied look on her face. Green had frozen, and wondered what to do now. Marta's underwear didn't exactly… cover things adequately. There was a few moments where Green hesitated on the edge of the bed, watching Marta turn slowly and face her. "What's wrong, Green? You look like you've got something on your mind" she said pleasantly and invitingly.

Green slowly took off her pajama pants and got into the bed, staring at the ceiling before answering. Though the fact that Marta was sleeping next to her in so little clothes was primary on her mind, there was an issue less immediate that she felt she must still address. "I do. I'm afraid if I talk with you about it you'll get angry though."

"It's about Francis, isn't it?" Marta asked, and her voice had lost that pleasant tone. Marta had obviously been dreading this talk.

"Yes. Tell me Marta, and be honest. If he came up to you tonight, begging to be forgiven, you'd take him back wouldn't you?" Green blurted, looking Marta directly in the face.

For a moment Marta actually glared back at Green, but eventually she lowered her eyes, and looked miserable as she whispered her response. "Yes."

Green found her hand stroking Marta's hair almost absentmindedly. The older girl didn't flinch away from the touch, only smiled faintly as silent tears rolled down her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Green found herself muttering, feeling horrible for even bringing it up.

"No, it's ok. I know I'm a bit… dumb about Francis. I guess I just always thought that we'd be together. He was always saying that. He's just…" Marta tried to explain, sitting up and dislodging Green's hand. "I just don't know what to think about him."

Thinking hard about every word, Green spoke slowly. "Well, let me ask you. Has he always been faithful? Has he ever been with other girls while he was supposed to be with you?"

Blushing, Marta looked down at the sheets and drew on them absently with her finger. "Well... I mean yes. We were technically separated at the time though."

"I'm not surprised. Look, I'm gonna assume here that he's broken up with you a few times." Green said, and went on when she heard no objections. "I'm also gonna tell you why I think he keeps leaving you. It's because he CAN, Marta. You're reliable, and he sees that in you. You're the kind of girl that he can break up with, knowing that you'll be there waiting for him."

"But why would he even do that?" Marta asked, tears spilling onto the sheets. "I mean, is it something I'm not…"

Green grabbed Marta's shoulders and spun her so they were face-to-face. Marta looked astonished, but Green still spoke fiercely. "You listen to me. I just told you he breaks up with you to go be with some floozy and get back with you. You then asked me what you were doing wrong. You did not do ANYTHING wrong Marta. That guy is a weasel, and he's probably only with that other girl because she can **** like a mountain lion. I guarantee you if he wasn't supplying bottles of champagne and a luxury room for them to **** in she wouldn't even give him the time of day! And as soon as that happens he's gonna come back to you, because you're going to be so grateful he's back that you won't ask too many awkward questions, will you?" Green demanded, never breaking stern contact with Marta's eyes.

Eventually, Marta subsided, and fresh tears sprung up in her eyes. "No… I never did before…" Marta said with a tone to her voice that told Green she'd apparently never thought about it before either. "What's a mountain lion?"

"A Persian. Whatever. Look…" Green said in a much gentler tone of voice. This hadn't meant to be an emotional bonfire. "I'm not trying to tell you how to think of Francis. I don't know how he is when he's with you or anything. All I'm saying is that he seems like a taker and not a giver to you. I don't want to watch you become someone's second choice just because you can't see he might be a jerk." As Green reached up and wiped the tears off Marta's face, there was a moment of calm silence. "You don't have to say anything. Just think about it, alright? We should probably get to bed anyways. I've gotta train for the tournament tomorrow when we wake up."

Marta's hands flew up to her mouth, and all of the other emotions were swept aside by concern. "Green, you can't agree to that deal with Francis! What if he beats you?! Please, I'll go to him tomorrow and apologize, and you won't have to… I mean, licking his shoes clean!"

Standing up on the bed, Green balled her hands into fists and spoke through clenched teeth. "If you go to him tomorrow behind my back I don't want to see your face again!" Marta gasped in shock, and Green went on, flexing her fingers. "I hope I fight him tomorrow, I really do. I am going to make him apologize to you or I am going to lick his shoes, but one way or the other you are NOT going to apologize to HIM!"

The door opened, and Janine stood there with Charmeleon behind her, both looking into the room. Green had a moment to reflect on how they must look, Marta kneeling on the bed in her underwear and Green standing above her without pants. Everyone stared around for a moment in embarrassed silence. "Um, hey Janine. How's it going?" Green asked in a faux casual voice.

"Well, I was laying next door and I couldn't get to sleep." Janine said brightly. "Red snores like a chainsaw. Can I sleep with you guys?"

Green looked suspicious for a moment. Red was asleep already? She put her ear to the wall, and heard what Janine was talking about at once. A growling snore could be heard faintly, and Green had to concede that it was probably louder inside. "Wow. Yeah, sure I guess" she said as she plopped down on the bed from her standing position and scooted closer to Marta, who also graciously moved over.

"By all means!" Marta said happily as she wiped her eyes.

Janine also took off the pants she was wearing and crawled in bed next to Green, sighing hugely and turning onto her stomach. "Thanks. I promise I won't be a bother."

Charmeleon, who had come into the room as well, curled on the floor near the bed and flicked her tail lazily. The shadows in the room danced as Green felt Marta tuck in closer and heard her fall asleep slowly. To her other side, she could feel Janine take her hand. She didn't fight it, if only to fall asleep without more drama.

The next morning Green was the first one awake. Marta had an arm draped around her, and Janine still had the hold on her hand. The sheer body heat of the two larger girls was making her sweat slowly. She managed to squeeze herself out and headed for the bathroom with a sigh, dropping off her clothes from the previous day into the washer/drier before she went inside.

The bath hadn't been going on too long before Green heard voices from outside that made her speed up her bathing a bit. Dressing in another pair of pajamas, she exited the bathroom to find Marta and Janine sitting on the couch, both crouched over a menu and discussing it quietly. They both smiled at Green as they saw her exit the bathroom, and Green had another one of those sinking feelings as Janine glared at Marta for a moment. Charmeleon, who was eating some of the pokemon food balls out of a bowl, looked up happily to see Green.

"Green! Good morning! We ordered breakfast!" said Marta in her normal gushing voice.

"We need to go train once we're done eating. I reserved us a battling room for this morning. As soon as Red gets up we'll go and do that. In the mean time, I suppose I'll go and take a bath!" Janine said happily, smiling at Green before hurrying into the bathroom. She paused on the way in to smile at Green.

Red eventually joined Marta and Green, rubbing his eyes, and was next to use the bathroom without saying more than a grumble through his sleepiness. After Marta had also showered the food was delivered, and the four of them spent a quick and silent few minutes scarfing down the food before they all packed up. Green very reluctantly took out her outfit from the previous day and put it on, trying not to think of how humiliating it would be to lose in these clothes. By the time Green got the ensemble on, everyone else was ready to go out in the front room. Green returned Charmeleon as she followed everyone out and towards the elevators.

The Arena Deck was less packed than yesterday, but the buzz of activity was just as loud, as people laughed and talked loudly all over. Some people were discussing things with other trainers, others buying from the stores, but everyone seemed to be waiting for something to happen, most likely the tournament. A huge board had been affixed to one wall since yesterday, with about a hundred slots on one side that led eventually down to one slot. This must be where they would put the names of the people fighting in the tournament. Janine grabbed Green' arm as she lagged behind looking at the board, and brought her to the Battle Coliseum's large double doors that everyone had been crowding around the previous day. Two tables were set near the door, one with a huge line in front of it that said "Walk-Ups" and one that said "Reservations" with no line. People grumbled all down the line as they walked calmly up to the Reservations desk.

The woman sitting at the desk smiled warmly. "Hello, do you have a reservation for a field?"

"Yes, Janine, four people. We requested it for an hour." Janine said promptly.

The woman typed quickly into a notebook computer she had on the table. "Of course. Right on time! You folks will be on field eight. Someone will be along to remind you when you have ten minutes left" she said pleasantly, handing Janine a plastic card with a large number 8 on it.

"How did you get a battle room reserved?" Green asked curiously as they bustled towards the doors and ignored the catcalls of the line goers.

"Well, it did help that we sort of have dinner with the Captain and a Dragon Master last night. Name drops are great over a phone." Janine said slyly.

Entering through the left one of the double doors, Green was disappointed to see that the inside of the Arena Deck was nothing more than a hallway with a bunch of doorways, each numbered. There was a window looking into a small office to their right, and Green was surprised to see a Nurse Joy helping a man with his pokemon. A few official-looking people with sensible hats on walked up and down the corridor, occasionally watching the screens next to each door that showed what was going on inside. They all reached the door marked 8, and Janine used the card to open the door into the crisp and clean arena. It felt like a tennis court to Green, and the smell of relatively fresh plastic still lingered in the room.

"Alright!" Red said jovially, spreading his arms and cracking his neck as he grinned around the room. "Pidgeotto!" he said as he released the bird pokemon, who soared gratefully around the room. "Hey Green, I've never used my Pidgeotto yet. Want to have a couple fights with him and Ralts?"

Green nodded as she stepped forward and released the small helmeted pokemon. "Sure, I suppose if you want to lose again."

The next hour practically flew by for Green. Ralts had an extensive workout, barely defeating Pidgeotto, while Breloom barely lost to Red's Ivysaur. Snorlax was brought out, and after a few minutes of sulking once he realized he wasn't getting a drink, had a very intense battle with Jeffey, Marta's Gyarados, that ended in both exhausted pokemon being returned. Janine fought Beedrill using Zubat, and though Green lost Zubat did evolve into Golbat which put a happy edge to the loss. Regirock was pitted against a double assault of Heracross and Ninjask, but after it dealt with Ninjask it defeated Heracross easily since neither pokemon could do too much damage. Finally, Charmeleon was faced with Pikachu in what proved to be the most prolonged fight of the hour. Charmeleon was more powerful but Pikachu was faster, and Pikachu would take advantage of the fact to strike Charmeleon with small bolts of electricity right after she made an attack. However, Pikachu's speed couldn't keep ahead of the attacks forever, and Charmeleon eventually caught it with a huge gout of red-hot fire that knocked it right out. Green sat off to the side once all of her pokemon had been through a battle, and watched as Nidorina and Bayleef fought ferociously. A smiling man poked his head in to remind them they only had 10 minutes left.

Red sat down next to Green as Marta's Bellsprout fought Janine's Oddish. He glanced over to her and hesitated for a few minutes before speaking, opening and closing his mouth several times. Green was looking curiously at her Pokedex, and checking something very intently.

"What's up, Red? You look kind of perturbed" Green said, looking up from the pokedex for a moment. "Can you believe it? Besides Regirock they're ALL female. That's gotta be some sick ****ing cosmic joke.

"What?" Red asked, blinking at the comment.

"Nothing. Something up?"

"I just kinda wanted to ask you something." Red mumbled, looking miserable.

"Look I wish you guys would stop saying that. Just ask me a question. It'll be fine, I promise." She shot back, a little more harshly than she'd intended as she put away her Pokedex. Red was just getting the pent up stress that had suddenly sprung up from having companions apparently not being able to live their lives without her. Sure, he was partially to blame in a small way, but the part of Green's brain that was Rudolph reasoned that if you knew a girl all your life and then she turned out to be into the same things as you, as well as being a person that you could talk to plainly, then what the hell else were you supposed to think?

"Do you still want me around when the ship docks? I mean, you can just say so. I mean, I understand if you like them more than me, really" Red said, waving his hands suddenly to indicate he didn't want to make Green upset.

Green sighed. Christ, she was glad she only had to be a teenager mentally only once. She hoped. "We don't want you to leave, Red. You snore like a log, that's why Janine came to stay in our room" she said quickly, and got a grim satisfaction at the expression on his face. "You're a great pokemon trainer, and you're my friend. Of course I want you along" she went on, taking some pity on him. "We're girls and we're gonna do girl stuff sometimes. It doesn't mean we don't like you. Hell, you should take it as a compliment. Now you can sleep naked or fart as much as you want" she said, grinning as Red's face flushed crimson.

"I… uh… I've never slept naked" Red said, in a bewildered way that made Green laugh. This had not been the response he'd been expecting. He beamed as Green wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes, and she could see that at least for right now he was in high spirits again. "Hey thanks Green! I'm sorry I took it so personally. Hey, I'd better challenge them to a doubles match quick if I wanna use all my pokemon!" he said gleefully, taking out two pokeballs as he rushed over to challenge Marta and Janine to a three-way doubles match. After a moment's hesitation, Green joined, using only Regirock instead of two pokemon.

The attendant came back before the match was actually over. The seven-way pokemon battle was impressive enough, however, that he actually entered and watched, though Marta's Wurmple had only evolved into Silcoon and then just sat there until returned. Red fought with Shedinja and Mankey, Janine with Skorupi and Koffing, Marta with a frantic Jigglypuff, and Green with Regirock. All of the other pokemon swarmed around Regirock, fighting each other as much as the stationary rock pokemon as Green kept commanding it to use Curse. At first it seemed as if Regirock was doing nothing, but eventually a noticeable dark flickering aura started to pulse around it. Finally, as Mankey came and hit it with a vicious chop on the leg, Regirock roared in pain and swung back its leg to give Mankey a vicious blow with its foot that sent the pokemon sprawling. Regirock decimated the other pokemon once Mankey was down, but even as Green returned it she could hear it groaning in pain like a rockslide. It had taken quite a beating today.

The attendant clapped as he opened the door. "Very impressive! I'm glad I stayed. There's a window up front where we'll happily heal all of your pokemon."

They all left the Arena's double doors in high spirits, and Green saw a number of people still in line from earlier. Most had that listless look of people in slow lines everywhere, but a few glared after their small group as they ambled off towards the sandwich shop. They all had a pleasant few minutes as they all sat there at the table, watching people go by to and fro.

As they finished, there was a commotion from the back that made them all turn around. Bruno came out of a door set into the back wall, and started walking out amidst a torrent of whispering.

Even as everyone else at the table watched in amazement, Marta wiped her mouth clean and waved to Bruno as he strode past their table, making him slow down with a quizzical expression on his face. "Mr. Bruno! I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. You really came through for us, and I'm very grateful."

Bruno looked back at her with that hard, stern expression he'd used the previous day. It eventually melted under the sheer inferno that was Marta's beaming smile. He rubbed the back of his head, looking suddenly and comically very uncomfortable. "Yes, thank you. I was just doing my job, after all."

"Nevertheless, you acted like quite the hero in my opinion. Nobody else that watched decided to say anything" Marta responded with a bit of a frown.

Nodding and clearing his throat, Bruno shuffled his feet. Green had a moment to smirk. The big guy was super uncomfortable around women.

"So, where are you off to, Mr. Bruno? Taking a stroll before the tournament?" Marta inquired, looking interested. Everyone else at the table turned to Bruno like people watching a tennis match.

"No, I have a bit of business off the ship at a nearby island. Elite Four business. I should be back before the tournament starts however" he said mildly, apparently glad that the topic had moved from being thanked.

"Well good luck, Mr. Bruno!" Marta said, waving happily to the large man as he awkwardly nodded back and left before they could assault him with more pleasantries.

Green smiled at his retreating back before looking over to Marta, who looked puzzled. "Did I say something to offend him?"

"I'm not sure if he talks to a lot of women" Green guessed as she finished off her sandwich. "Well, we've got a few hours before the tournament even starts. What say we go and enjoy ourselves a bit?"

As they shoved their way through the crowd and back towards the elevators, there was another moment where Green caught sight of someone she swore she knew in the crowd. It was something about the body shape, but when she looked it just seemed to be one of the sailors. She watched him go curiously for a moment, but Red shook her shoulder and broke her concentration. She smiled at him and followed their group, and when she looked over her shoulder this time she couldn't spot the large sailor again.

 

[Lycaeus]

Wow, really awesome. I love the scene between Green and Janine in the hotel ;D it was a good twist. Can't wait to see where it goes.

Your style of writing is really good too, it all flows really well.

Can't wait for the next chapter!!

 

[¡Chucho!]

Next time you post a fanfic somewhere, wait a day before posting the next chapter. It feels overwhelming right now.

 

[Greenmaybeaguy]

Next time you post a fanfic somewhere, wait a day before posting the next chapter. It feels overwhelming right now.

Sorry about that. I just had a lot to post and didn't think about it. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

 

[Fishyman]

Great story. I'm actually finding myself saddened when the latest chapter ends.