"I can see daylight! We're almost out!" May exclaimed excitedly as we rounded a corner, showing us the first ray of sunshine we had seen in over a week.
"Bebe!"
Celebi chimed from atop my head, her favorite perch, as she lifted up and took off towards the sunlight enthusiastically.
"Don't go too far!" I called after her, to which she cried in affirmation before vanishing through the hole above us. And as she flew, subterranean flora of all kinds sprouted in her wake, such as moss, mushrooms and lichen.
It had been nearly a week since Celebi hatched from the egg, a few days of which were spent digging out some more fossils before we departed for Vermillion city. In that time she had grown significantly in power, if not size, and was growing increasingly mischievious by the day.
"Vulll."
The snow-white fox walking at my side huffed irritably at the antics of the newborn Legendary pokemon, having had a small rivalry with her since the day I got her as well. After all, with Celebi being born, I didn't need too many new pokemon all at once.
Together, May and I quickly climbed out of the hole in the ground that was the entrance to Diglett tunnel, a ladder just like the other entrance, before finding ourselves in the blinding light and warmth of the sun for the first time in over a week.
"Ahhhh~! This feels heavenly~!" May sighed contently as she stretched under the sun like a Skitty.
"I'll say. After staying underground for so long it'll be nice to head to Cinnabar for a while." I said in agreement, stretching as well as the warmth of the sun washed over me. I then called out, "Celebi, where are you?"
"Bebe!"
A little pink head popped out of a nearby tree, which had started to bloom with berries while all of the others remained bare.
"Bebebe~!" Celebi exclaimed as she flew down, a couple of berries grasped in her little hands as she offered them to me.
"Thank you." I said while accepting one, and then eating it in front of her.
The little Legendary beamed happily at that before taking the other to May.
"Oh, for me? Thank you!" May said as she too ate the berry.
"Vulpix vul?" Vulpix asked.
"Cebebe!" Celebi declared, refusing to give her a berry as well.
"Vul!" The little fox huffed, before breathing out a blast of freezing air with clumps of powdery snow at Celebi.
"Cebebe!"
Celebi exclaimed in shock from the sudden cold, before retaliating with a weak psychic wave of energy. This prompted a mini battle between the two as snow and psychic power started flying around with no regard to our surroundings. And this wasn't the first time.
"I know Vulpix has the type advantage, but how powerful do you think she'll end up if she keeps picking fights with Celebi all the time?" I asked May wryly while turning to look at her, only to be stunned when I did so.
"What are you doing?" I asked, as May unclasped her bra to allow her glorious tits to bounce freely in the sunlight.
"I just spent the last week underground, and we are planning to go to Cinnabar island island. I'll be damned if I strut around in a bikini there looking as pasty as a Frosslass." May declared as she bent over, and peeled her spats down her legs as well, leaving her completely naked in the middle of the forest.
"I take it that we're setting up camp for the night then?" I asked, my eyes not leaving her nude figure.
"Sure~! Then I can just relax and try to tan for the rest of the day." May said as she started pulling the tent and provisions out of her bag.
"I can also make my preparations for Surge before we get to Vermillion then." I added while moving to give her a hand, quickly setting up the tent while pulling out several pieces of furniture, including a chair like you would find beside a pool for tanning.
"Well, once you finish rubbing this in, you can train all you want." May said as she stretched out on the chair, a bottle of tanning oil in her hand.
"Of course." I said while hurrying to her side. I then applied a generous amount of oil to her back before methodically rubbing it into her skin.
"Mmmm... That feels good..." May said as I applied pressure to some of her more tense spots at the same time, massaging and applying oil at the same time. Of course, I also had to split my attention between her and our pokemon as they played around us.
I continued rubbing oil into every single inch of exposed skin on May's body, every single nook and cranny from head to toe. And naturally, May wasn't shy in the slightest as I did so. Instead, she seemed to enjoy the treatment immensely. Enough that by the time I had finished, she was practically asleep in the chair with a wide smile on her face.
"Do you mind if I borrow one or two of your pokemon?" I asked while wiping the reamining oil from my hands.
"Hm? What for?" May asked in a dreamy voice.
"Practice for Surge. There's something I want to try, so we need to train steel type moves." I told her seriously.
"Ok, use Altaria. She knows Steel Wing." May replied, before dozing off in her chair blissfully.
"Thanks." I said, kissing her gently on her brow, before turning towards Celebi and Vulpix.
"You two ready to get some training in?" I asked them, even as I called out Charmeleon, Diglett, Joltik and Pidgeotto as well. A chorus of cries answered me as I reached for May's pokeballs, and soon Altaria joined us in our training.
...
"So this is Vermillion city." I said while looking around in awe.
"Yep~! Also known as the global port of Kanto and Johto, Vermillion is the primary location where all the goods flowing into the Kanto region arrive from all over the world. The larger cargo ships transport the goods to the shipyards here, and then they're transported all over Kanto and Johto afterwards by smaller ships, trains, and so on." May stated informatively.
"Its also home to a diverse population of pokemon." I added with interest, as a woman walked by with a Thievul that was native to the Galar region.
"Understandably. I can imagine that there is a lot of people who end up making trades whenever they see the exotic pokemon coming in on the ships."
"Plus I'm pretty sure there is a decent market for breeders selling eggs."
"Yeah. They actually have to regulate them pretty hard actually, otherwise overbreeding could introduce an invasive species." May stated smartly.
"Has something like that ever happened?" I asked curiously, even as I spied the curious sight of a man being carried bridal style by a Machamp down the street.
"Let's just say that Feebas weren't always so rare in Hoenn, then some moron decided to try introducing Carvanha to the river system they live in." May said while shaking her head in exasperation.
"Huh. And here I thought Carvanha were always native to Hoenn." I said thoughtfully.
"They are, just not the rivers. But then someone started the debate of salt water versus fresh water, and the rest is history."
"Damn... Sounds like it will be a pain to get a Milotic." I swore while shaking my head.
"Bebebe!"
I looked up at that cry to see Celibi flying towards May and I, drawing every single eye around us as she came to a stop right in front of me.
"Bebe!" She declared while holding a berry out to me.
"Why thank you. But, where did you get this?" I asked her worriedly, as I hadn't seen any berry bushes or trees for a while.
"Cebebe!" She declared while pointing to a stall.
"Oh boy..." I muttered while shaking my head worriedly, hoping Celebi wasn't just stealing berries from innocent vendors now.
"Is that darling Celebi yours?" The woman manning the stall asked as I approached her.
"Yeah. Sorry about any trouble she might have caused. How much do I owe you?" I asked while pulling out my wallet.
"Oh please, she's no trouble at all. And if getting the chance to see a Celebi inn person only cost me a few berries, then I'll happily pay that price." The woman declared with a bright smile, even as Celebi swooped down and plucked a couple more berries from the stall.
"Bebebe~!" The little Legendary cried happily, taking a big bite of the berry as she did so.
"Well that's good. You need to be more careful Celebi." I said to her this time.
"Be?"
"When you see a bunch of berries in a city like this, you need to pay for them first. Just come get me, and I'll buy them for you." I told her sternly, like a parent scolding their children. Which she kinda was since I had hatched Celebi, and she was only about a week old.
"Cebe!" She declared while giving a single nod of her head, making me feel like this won't be the last time I have this problem with her.
"How adorable." The vendor cooed over her, before adopting a thoughtful look. "But I thought Celebi were supposed to be green? At least, that was what the stories said?"
"They are. Mine is a bit different." I told her, though none of us really knew why my Celebi was a different color, or 'shiny' as some people preferred. The best the professor could come up with when we last talked to him was because my Celebi wasn't bound to a forest like the others seemingly were.
Celebi and I thanked the lady for her generosity before we returned to May, who was busy checking out some other stalls while we were busy.
"See anything you like?" I asked while approaching her from behind.
"These earings are cute." She replied, holding up said earings that were a matching set of small orange feathers that looked like those you would find on a Torchic.
"They are." I agreed, and May promptly paid for them before we moved on from the stall.
"So what first? Personally, I want to check out the shops since Vermillion gets merchandise from all over the world. There's also no real hurry for the ferry to Cinnabar Island either." May asked while pulling out a map of the city.
"How about the Gym?" I suggested.
"Really?" May asked while looking at me weirdly. "I mean, we can. But it just feels rushed to go right now before we even have the chance to check out the Pokemon Center."
"True. But I mostly want to see what I'd be facing there in person." I responded, to which May shrugged before looping her arm through mine.
"Fine. But afterwards you'll spend the rest of the day shopping with me~!" She declared while leading the way.
"Yes dear." I replied wryly, letting her lead me as we headed towards the center of the city.
The Gym of Vermillion city was completely different from the one in Pewter, which looked as if it had been built out of stone slabs cut from Mt. Moon itself. This Gym however looked like a massive power station with numerous power lines that seemed to be carrying electricity to the rest of the city.
"So the Gym also functions as a power supply for the rest of Vermillion?" I asked May curiously.
"That's right. Apparently, Surge has enough electric pokemon to power the entire city from his Gym. Not only that, he also defends the city from any rampaging ocean dwelling pokemon that might try to target the ships coming in or leaving port."
"Pokemon attack the ships?"
"Only the really territorial species like Gyarados or Sharpedo. They see passing ships as potential challengers." May explained as we approached the front doors.
"I'll keep that in mind when we head to Cinnabar Island." I replied as we stepped through the doors, only for my entire body to tense the second we passed the threshold.
"Noah?"
"Its dangerous here." I whispered to May urgently, while also sweeping the entryway of the Gym for whatever threat I had sensed.
"Greetings~!"
A young woman approached us almost immediately with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry to say the Gym is closed for the weekend. This is the time that Lt. Surge has the arena tended to and let's his pokemon rest." She quickly explained.
"Damn... So that means we'll have to wait." I swore at the information, not at all sorry for a reason to leave until I could figure out what the danger I sensed was.
"Perhaps not." The woman suddenly said as a chime sounded on the tablet she was carrying.
***
"And this is the latest shipment from Galar." The grunt said as he set the crate down, before opening it with a crowbar to reveal rows of pokeballs within.
"Excellent." Rumbled the mountain of a man standing before it, as he reached in and plucked a couple of the pokeballs from within to inspect.
The man himself stood more than a foot taller than the grunts surrounding him, with military cut blonde hair and a body corded with ropes of thick muscles that testified to his many decades of training and combat experience. He wore matching camo pants and a jacket, both of which contained several pockets where he stored his pokeballs.
Lt. Surge, Gym Leader of the vermillion city Gym, placed the pokeballs back into the crate after finishing his inspection of them.
"And what of the ones I specially requested?" He growled at the grunt.
"Here, sir." The grunt readily complied as he passed Surge a case with two shrunken pokeballs within it, two Toxel that he planned to train into Toxtricity. Hopefully BOTH forms at that.
"Good. See to it that the rest of this cargo is processed and prepared to move out within the day." Surge told the grunt, before pointing at another. "And YOU prep the outgoing cargo that's going to Paldea."
"Sir!" The grunt saluted, before he and a few others began prepping the goods. Pokemon, materials like Lapras shells or Slowpoke tails, and even a trio of young girls that were being bought by some wealthy Paldean 'collector'. Surge didn't know what the man 'collected', and he didn't care, he just knew he was going to miss the company that the three lovely ladies had given him the last few nights.
With the morning jobs completed, Surge decided to test his two new pokemon until his scheduled meeting with the Boss later, only to be interrupted when his phone began to ring.
"What is it?" He growled irritably when he saw the caller was one of the grunts stationed at the Gym.
"Sir, we have a situation here that might interest you." The grunt said through the video call, before shifting the camera so that Surge could see a young couple at the entryway. Only, he recognized the two of them.
"Ain't that the brat who smashed up our plan in Viridian?" Surge asked while focusing on the boy. But then something else caught his eye. "And ain't that a Celebi?!"
"Yes sir." The grunt replied while zooming the video in on the little Legendary. "Not only can we confirm that it is what it appears to be, we also confirmed that it is an unusual color compared to usual Celebi."
"So it must be extra valuable..." Surge murmured, more to himself than anyone else as his mind raced.
There was no doubt that as soon as word got out about it buyers from all over the world would be contacting Team Rocket about acquiring this pink Celebi for them, no matter the cost. The problem was that Legendaries like Celebi weren't called such for no reason, nor were they worshipped as dieties all over the world for being weaklings. Not to mention that the kid himself was an anomaly, to the point that the Boss himself declared him off-limits for them to attack.
"Keep him there." Surge ordered the grunt, before he prepared to leave.
"Sir?"
"I'm on my way." Surge snarled back, hurriedly leaving the Rocket warehouse that they were in and tossing out one of his pokeballs.
"STRIKA!" Cried out the quadrupedal pokemon that appeared, standing tall enough that even Surge was able to swing his leg over it and ride it with ease.
"To the Gym." Surge commanded, and the Zebstrika shot forward like a bolt of lightning through the streets of Vermillion.
Zebstrika's hooves thundered through the streets of Vermillion, literally, as it darted through the streets nearly as fast as lightning to carry Surge to the Gym. And despite having to traverse half of the city, they managed to arrive within a matter of minutes.
"Return." Surge ordered as he dismounted his pokemon, and it was recalled to it's pokeball as he hurried through the doors of the Gym. Sure enough, the brat was still there with his little girlfriend, and the pink Celebi was sitting on his shoulder.
"So this is the brat everyone has been going on about." Surge sneered as soon as they noticed his entrance. "You ARE the one who stopped a helicopter with his bare hands, and even arm wrestled a Machoke, aren't you?"
The boy stood taller than those around, but even he needed to look up at Surge as he approached, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yeah. I'm Noah." He said while offering his hand, which Surge took before trying to crush it with his strength. The boy however didn't even flinch. Instead, he tightened his own grip in return to the point that Surge was the one who thought HIS hand was about to crushed.
The thought made Surge smile despite himself.
"So, I thought the Gym was closed today." Noah said as they ended their handshake, which Surge concluded as his win.
"It is, but I can make exceptions for certain people that might interest me. Like brats who can beat a Machoke in arm wrestling, or are sponsored by the great professor Oak himself." Surge replied, which was partially true, but he also saw this as a chance to gather as much information on the brat as possible.
"So we can battle today?"
"That's right. So let's get this show started!" Surge declared as he stormed towards the arena, which appeared mostly the same as other arenas with a plot of dirt, aside from the numerous tesla coils that were scattered around it. "Clear out, all of you!" He ordered the grunts, who halted their repairs of the arena as they hurried out of his way.
"Most of my pokemon are resting, so this will be just a three on three. Unless you think that's too much for you, brat." Surge sneered as he took his place at the other side of the arena.
"Sounds good to me." The brat said as he took his, with the girl standing a short ways away behind him with the Celebi sitting on her shoulder now. But then there was a fourth addition as a Rotom drone hovered above them, seemingly streaming everything. Another complication.
"This will be a three on three between the Gym Leader Lt. Surge, and the challenger Noah. Only the challenger may substitute pokemon. Now begin!" Declared the grunt that was oficiating the match.
"GO!" Surge roared as soon as the battle started, throwing a pokeball that opened to release the Raichu inside.
"I choose you, Scyther!"
Surge sneered when he saw the bug/flying type, even more as it's figure began to blur as it used Agility to increase it's speed, and then Double Team so that several copies appeared in the arena.
"Raichu, give it a Shock Wave!" He commanded with a roar as the copies began to charge them.
"Rai....CHUUUUUUUUUUU!"
The electric mouse cried as it produced a rolling wave of electric power, strengthened by the power from the surrounding tesla coils as it surged towards every single one of the Scyther copies. The nice thing about this move was that it never missed, no matter how fast their opponents were or how many clones they made.
But then, something happened that Surge had never seen before.
The Scyther, which were all flying so low to the ground that their scythes were dragging, were all completely and utterly uneffected by the electric type attack. Which they were supposed to be weak to.
"What the-?!" Surge eclaimed in shock at the impossibility, right up until the Scyther all brought their metallic scythes up to deliver a Metal Claw attack to Raichu. An attack that also forced the fakes to vanish.
"CHUUUU!"
"Damn it! Iron Tail, NOW!" Surge roared as he tried to figure out how the brat managed to nullify his Raichu's attack. Thankfully his pokemon was well-trained from years of combat and battles, so Raichu quickly recovered from the attack as it swung around to bring it's metallic tail swinging down onto the Scyther like an executioner's sword.
Scyther however were known for their speed, as the damn thing matched Raichu blow for blow. More than that, it was pushing Raichu back bit by bit as they continued exchanging blows since it had two scythes, compared to Raichu's one tail.
"Get some distance, and hit it with a Thunderbolt!" Surge ordered irritably, prompting Raichu to use a Quick Attack to try and get away. Only, the Scyther followed it closely, seemingly knowing that it would lose the advantage if Raichu got away from it.
"Keep it up Scyther! Use X-Scissor!" The brat yelled across from him, and Surge could only watch as the two scythes glowed before slicing Raichu in an X pattern.
"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
Raichu cried as it was sent flying from the attack.
"Now finish it with Slash!"
"Scyther!"
"DODGE DAMMIT!" Surge roared as Scyther delivored it's final attack, and Raichu was sent to the ground.
"Raichu is unable to battle!" The grunt declared, signaling the end of the first round.
Surge fought back a snarl as he recalled the fallen pokemon, while the brat did the same across from him. Apparently, he came prepared.
"If you want speed, then I'll give you speed!" Surge declared as he tossed out his next pokeball, which opened to reveal what looked like another pokeball.
"Electrode!"
"Let's see how you deal with THIS." Surge snarled as he waited for the brat to make his own move.
"I choose you, Pinsir!" The brat declared, and the next bug type pokemon appeared in the arena.
"A pinsir this time? Does the brat have a thing for bugs or something?" Surge muttered to himself, filing the information away for later. It wasn't important right this moment.
"Magnet Rise, and Electro Cannon!" Surge quickly ordered to start the battle. Electrode began to rise up into the air in response, before it started crackling with electricity as it shot right at Pinsir.
"Harden!" The brat yelled, prompting the bug to take a stance to increase it's defense right before Electrode hit it.
"Hmph. Like that will be enough." Surge sneered as Electrode bounced off of it, only to go flying in a different direction until it hit one of the coils. Electrode then rebounded off of it in another direction until it hit another coil, then another, in what quickly became a game of electric pinball as it hit Pinsir in the middle, over and over again.
"That's right. Just a matter of time." Surge growled as he watched the bug take numerous hits. Yet, for some reason it wasn't even trying to fight back.
Surge watched with narrowed eyes as the bug took attack after attack, only ever hardening itself to try and withstand them instead of trying to retaliate. Though to be fair, it would be useless.
Despite knowing so, Surge couldn't help but to be suspicious as he watched his opponent on the other side. The brat was also watching carefully, his eyes following Electrode's every movement with inerrable accuracy. Something not even Surge could do once he got fully up to speed.
"NOW!" He suddenly yelled, startling even Surge as the bug finally moved to grab Electrode with it's pincers right before it could hit yet again. What happened next felt as if it did so in slow motion, as the bug swung Electrode overhead in an arc that used it's own momentum against it, before slamming it down into the ground in a vicious Seismic Toss.
"PINSIR!" It roared defiantly in the face of all the wounds it had accumulated until now, before driving the glowing horns atop it's head down at Electrode with a resounding boom.
"PINSIR!" It cried once more as it attacked again. Then again, and then a fourth time.
None of the attacks bore real weight, and each one was weaker than the last. But still, they would accumulate if allowed. Not to mention that Electrode's pinball attacks were like a double edged sword to begin with.
So Surge decided to end this round.
"Self Destruct."
Surge's voice cut through the numerous impacts to reach his pokemon, which began to rapidly flash with light before erupting in a blinding ball of fire and power.
The concussive force raged through the entire arena with enough power that even Surge had to brace himself against it, while one of the grunts watching was blown clear off his feet onto his ass. And when the smoke began to clear it showed a large crater in the middle of the arena with Electrode in the middle, while Pinsir impossibly stood still.
"How..." Surge uttered in disbelief, before scowling as he realized it. "Endure, huh?" He growled irritably, hating that move.
"Electrode is unable to battle!" The grunt declared, even as the brat recalled the barely conscious bug back to it's pokeball.
"Brock did somethign similar when I battled him before. So I made sure at least one of my pokemon could use Endure, just in case." He stated to Surge from across the arena.
"Damn brat. He needs to learn how to battle properly. Funny enough that the Rock type Gym Leader doesn't have the stones to REALLY battle." Surge sneered in disgust, annoyed that Brock helped prepare someone against him, even if it was unintentional.
And now he was down to his final pokemon for this battle, an Electabuzz.
Sure, Surge had several other, stronger pokemon, but they were all being cared for after spending the last several days battling. And while this Electabuzz was on the verge of evolving, it was far from being his strongest pokemon.
"Guess I got no choice, Get it done, Electabuzz." Surge snarled as he tossed out the pokeball, which produced said Electabuzz in the middle of the arena.
"B-b-b-b-b-b-BUZZ!" Electabuzz cried while raising it's fists up into the air, and producing several arcs of electricity in an intimidation display.
"If that's how it is, then I'll choose you, Charmeleon!" The brat declared, before sending out what must have been his starter.
"Char..."
The fire type growled low as it appeared across from Electabuzz, it's voice nearly a hiss as it flexed it's claws subtly.
"The third round will be Charmeleon versus Electabuzz! begin!" The grunt declared.
"Thunder Punch, NOW!" Surge immediately ordered.
"BUZZ!"
Electabuzz immediately launched itself at Charmeleon with one of it's fists cocked back, electricity crackling dangerously. But rather than try to avoid or Endure like he had the last two rounds, this time the Charmeleon charged forward to meet Electabuzz halfway, it's own fist curled while flames enveloped it's entire arm.
The two attacks met in the middle with a staggering explosive force, bathing the battlefield in flames and electric power as the attacks seemingly canceled each other out. But then the Charmeleon followed up with another Fire Punch with it's other hand, slugging Electabuzz in the face with enough force to make it recoil.
Electabuzz however wasn't going to take that lying down though.
Surge had beat into it to never give up, and never go down. He taught it that when it got hit, to hit back harder. And that was exactly what it did now as Electabuzz hit Charmeleon with a powerful Thunder Punch in retaliation.
"CHAR!"
The fire type roared in fury from the hit, especially since it seemed as it the electric power in the attack was enough to inflict paralysis on it.
"Good! Now finish it!" Surge roared, prompting Electabuzz to attack with yet another Thunder Punch. He heard the brat yelling something from the other side of the arena, Surge couldn't make it out, nor did he care as he anticipated seeing the fire type go down. Only, it didn't.
The Charmeleon ducked beneath the Thunder Punch with what must have been an incredible force of will in spite of the paralysis. But that didn't mean it was operating at full power, as it wasn't moving as fast as before.
Unfortunately though, Charmeleon didn't need to be fast to do what Surge realized they were planning.
As Electabuzz's attack swung wide over Charmeleon's head, the fire type retaliated this time with another Fire Punch right hook straight to the ribs, before following up with another from the left as Electabuzz's body flinched that way from the first hit. The result was it taking two strong fire type attacks in rapid succession right in the middle of it's body, which in turn seemed to burn it as Surge noticed it try to back away.
"DON'T YOU DARE!" He roared at it, making Electabuzz freeze in place. "GET BACK OUT THERE, AND TAKE THIS THING DOWN!"
The electric type looked back at him with a mixture of emotions on it's face, chief of which was frustration, but Surge just glared back until it relented and turned back towards Charmeleon.
"Now use Thunder!" Suge snapped, ignoring the pain that Elctabuzz seemed to be in as it built up power. At the same time, the Charmeleon also produced a mouthful of flames that it shot at Electabuzz in a powerful stream that radiated such heat that even Surge felt it.
"B-B-B-B-B-BUZZZZZZZ!"
Electabuz screamed as it fired the powerful electric attack, not at the Charmeleon, but at the Flamethrower coming right at it. The result was an explosion of flames and lightning shooting out in every direction scross the arena, scorching every surface they touched while several of the coils across the arena even started glowing red from the heat.
"Keep at it!" Surge yelled, urging Electabuzz to press the advantage as it fired off numerous attacks in rapid succession through the flames. When they cleared though, the fire type was no longer there. Instead, there was a hole in the ground.
"Shit!" Surge swore as soon as he saw it, before the ground below Electabuzz erupted.
"Char~!"
The Charmeleon hissed as it grabbed Electabuzz from below, before dragging it down into the ground with it.
"Break out of there! Use Rock Smash!" Surge urgently ordered as the sounds of combat came from the hole, along with the occasional burst of flame. And then, everything went quiet.
They all waited with bated breath for any sign of movement from the hole, before something began to emerge from it. Something yellow and black.
"That a boy-" Surge began with pride, before cutting himself off as ELctabuzz flopped down unconsciously to the side, making room for a battered and exhausted Charmeleon.
For a moment no one said anything as they all stared at Charmeleon, before Surge noticed the grunt officiating the match glancing at him for directions. And Surge gave him the barest of nods in affirmation.
"Electabuzz is unable to battle! Charmeleon and Noah win!" He declared, bringing an end to the battle. Surge noticed the tensions visibly bleed out of the brat across from him as the end of the battle was announced, before he stepped out onto the arena towards the battered Charmeleon.
"Sir." One of the grunts murmured quietly from right behind him. "His pokemon are weakened, and the pink Celebi is right there. Just give the word."
"Stand down." Surge just barely growled back.
"Sir?"
"He still has three pokemon that are good to go, including that Celebi. Plus there's the broad behind him. Who knows what pokemon she's got with her, that are all fresh and ready to go. Then there's the dron who's recording everything, if not livestreaming it right this second. I'm not ready to risk exposing myself with so many unknowns." Surge growled at him, and the grunt bowed back as Surge stepped forward towards the brat.
He walked until he was close to Electabuzz, who he recalled to it's pokeball. "I'll deal with you later." He snarled at it quietly, before approahing the brat.
"Good job, even if wasn't the usual team I use." Surge admitted as he reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out a small Badge. "Take this, the Thunder Badge."
The brat took the Badge and added it to the case holding them, the second out of eight.
"Thanks. That was a good battle." He said after putting the case away.
"Most intense one I've had in a while. You should should be ready for several of the other Gyms if the rest of your team performs like that." He said, trying to fish for any possible info. If this brat was getting ready to head to Fuschia or Saffron city, then Koga or Sabrina could make preparations for his arrival.
"Sounds good. Don't suppose you can offer me any advice?"
"Nope. I don't help challengers against my fellow Gym Leaders." Surge said, which was partially true. At the very least, he wasn't going to give any tips on any fellow Rocket members in case they decided to act.
With one last bone-crushing handshake, the brat left with his little girlfriend and the pink Celebi. It actually almost physically hurt watching that thing go, but Surge bore it as he watched them leave. Then he turned and immediately made his way to the office, where he promptly called Archer.
"What is it, Surge?" The second of the organization asked as soon as he appeared on screen.
"Put me through to the Boss." Surge said without any preamble.
Archer cocked a brow at the request, but started tapping some keys offscreen before the screen split entirely to display the usual dark silhouette.
"Surge. What an unexpected surprise after you blew off our earlier meeting. I suppose you have a good reason?" The mechanically disguised voice asked.
"That brat you told us about was here." Surge said, and both of them changed their demeanor.
"Noah? The boy who fell from the sky?" The Boss asked for confirmation.
"That's the one. He came here with that Birch broad for a Gym battle."
"And what did you do?"
"I gave it to him. We had our battle."
Surge then detailed EVERYTHING from his battle against Noah. The pokemon he used, their tactics, and especially the pink Celebi. And naturally, Surge sent them the footage from the Gym cameras as well.
"He didn't suspect anything about your allegiance, did he?" The Boss asked soon as Surge finished speaking.
"Not that I saw. The brat was tense, but there shouldn't have been anything that tipped him off." Surge replied.
"Good. We'll keep an eye on him where we can for now. His acquisition of a Celebi, an unheard of PINK Celebi at that, gives even more reason for us to try and turn him to our side. I don't want to risk exposing any of our Gym Leaders if possible though. I'll also get in touch with Koga, see when his agent will arrive to tail them for us. Don't lose them until then."
"Got it." Surge said, and the call with the Boss ended as he leaned back in his chair in contemplation.