Setting:
•Johto•
•Late February, A few days earlier•
•Silver POV•
Chapter Twenty
The Boy Who Would Burn the World
The day Silver set off for Azalea on his quest for vengeance, he first passed through the small town of New Bark. He noted nothing really interesting; it appeared someone was moving as a house had a sold sign in the front yard and a load of boxes piled high behind the windows inside the house. He passed by a building, which he figured to be a laboratory as well; he heard that Professor Elm lived in New Bark Town, after all.
Not all that interested, he made his way into Route 29 and found the shortest possible path to Cherrygrove City thanks to the GPS feature on the new Pokegear he had stolen from some newbie trainer. Thievery was not normally in his nature, but anything to accomplish his goal was necessary—including "upgrading" in order to track down Team Rocket more efficiently.
After all, of his remaining prize money, some of it initially went into building the schoolhouse which he lost with Amber, some of it went on Amber's funeral and burial, and the rest of it he left in investments where it went untouched and not really monitored. He only kept a small portion of it with him, nothing over 100 dollars though.
Once in Cherrygrove, it was evening, and he ended up staying at the local Pokémon Center. Really, the trip had already taken him two days already: a day just to get to New Bark, where he camped outside of the town the night before, and now today. He was none too happy about the timing of the journey. If anything, he wanted to speed things up. That night, he saw a young boy with a Pokémon rare even in the Johto region, a Cyndaquil, fall asleep on the sofa in the center.
Staying away from civilization was natural for Silver, and he easily went undetected by the clueless new trainer. He considered stealing the rare Pokémon for himself, but it looked weak, anyway. And besides, it was Team Rocket who stole Pokémon from trainers. He would not resort to stooping that low, otherwise he'd be nothing more than a hypocrite. It was the news the boy was spreading that had caught his fancy though; apparently the nitwit professor back in New Bark lost a Totodile.
That, if he happened to find it, he could take for himself since it was technically supposed to go to a new trainer, anyway. He'd only take it if it weren't weak, though. He had no room for the weak. If anything, he wanted nothing and no one to get in his way. Resolving that maybe he could make a small detour to find the Totodile, he settled down for the night and slept lightly.
At around eleven the next morning, he awoke to see some blonde-haired girl toting a Chikorita on her shoulder approach the counter to ask for Nurse Joy. Being out of noticeable sight, he watched her as he woke. She looked strikingly familiar, though he was certain he never met this girl before—it was the way she carried herself, though. She looked around his age, too, though she had a bit of a clueless look to her, as though maybe she were a new trainer.
Not really too interested, he calmly waited for her to leave before leaving the center, himself. He made certain neither the girl nor the boy who was still sleeping on the sofa saw him as he left.
Continuing through Route 30, he passed a house where he heard a racket. Stopping to hide in the nearby brush, he saw a Totodile dart out of the house and into the forest. Smirking, he realized it must've been the one that boy was looking for the previous night. Deciding to track it, he called Sneasel out of the pokeball, and the two were in hot pursuit.
Unfortunately, Sneasel, being rather useless in Silver's opinion, lost sight of the Pokémon, which caused Silver to scold him before calling him back into the pokeball. From there, Silver combed the underbrush of the forest in the route looking for the rare Pokémon. This took a long time—hours in fact.
At some point, he came upon a clearing that held a nice-sized pond. Figuring that Totodile would show up here sooner or later, he kept an eye out for the blue Pokémon, walking around to seem inconspicuous of his intentions.
As he walked, the boy from the center approached him. Annoyed that someone would even think to approach him, he covered his head with the hood of his jacket and faced away from the boy.
"Excuse me, sir. Have you seen a Totodile around here? I'm looking for it since it escaped Professor Elm's lab. I'm his assistant, and I need to find it for a new trainer."
The boy sounded to be in his early to mid-teens. He seemed friendly enough; his old self would have probably been nicer, but Silver wasn't like that anymore. The sooner he got rid of the boy, the better.
Of course, he'd have to act like he knew nothing about Totodile, lest his plan be found out. Glancing at the boy, he noticed a pokeball on the boy's belt, which he assumed was the Totodile's. That was perfect. He needed the pokeball if he was to successfully capture it, after all.
"I haven't seen one, and I wouldn't tell the likes of you if I have. Weaklings don't deserve to have second chances. If the Totodile escaped, obviously it didn't want to hang around with the likes of that stupid Professor, so I suggest looking someplace else, kid," replied Silver as he tried to convey his annoyance at the boy as best he could.
The sooner he got rid of the boy, the better. After all, Totodile couldn't have been too far from there. The last thing Silver needed was the boy to find out Totodile's whereabouts first.
His tactic seemed to have worked since the boy backed up right into the girl he saw from the center earlier. Seeing her closer up, he noticed that she was half a foot shorter than him. She had somewhat pale skin, like she didn't get outside much. Her eyes were a sea green, and her hair was golden-blonde, but something seemed off about it. The roots of her hair were a bit darker than the rest of her hair.
Bottle blonde. He thought to himself. Probably just a trainer wannabe girl who has been pampered all her life.
The girl responded, "Hey, watch where you're going!" to the boy, which made the boy turn his attention to her.
The girl's voice itself seemed to have some sort of quality he recognized, though he couldn't place it exactly. He was certain he'd never heard this girl before, never seen her before, yet she reminded him of someone familiar.
Trying his best to stay out of the limelight, he faced away from the girl so she couldn't get an accurate read on his profile. The last thing he needed was to attract attention from another person.
She then addressed both he and the other boy anyway, "Hey, one of you two work for Professor Elm? I got a call asking me to help find a Totodile."
The voice definitely seemed familiar, though different somehow, like a dream he could not quite remember. He decided not to answer, though and made himself face opposite her direction, especially since he noticed that maybe she did see him some already. Her face turned into a grimace for a second before straightening out. He thought in hindsight that perhaps it was just a trick of the sunlight since her disposition never wavered.
From there, the other boy introduced himself as Gold and struck up a conversation with the girl. He apparently nicknamed his Cyndaquil and introduced it as well to the girl. The girl then introduced herself as Wolf—or so he heard, but really Silver wondered about that since he didn't know anyone who would name their daughter that—and introduced the Chikorita on her shoulder as Chika.
How original. Now that they're talking, it's the perfect opportunity to grab Totodile's pokeball and get out of here.
Silver did just that; the two newbies never even noticed his theft nor his getaway. Once creeping out of earshot, he ran quickly towards the pond, where to his luck, he found Totodile lazing on a nearby rock. Recalling it to its pokeball, he gazed at it through the transparent top.
I won't give this one a nickname. It's never been my style, and I just want to use it to defeat Team Rocket, anyway. It's not like I really will care about it.
Hmph. Those two newbies… Nicknaming their Pokémon. At least the boy was more creative than that pretty preppy girl. She looked like a rocker wannabe. Amber pulled off that look so much better. But then again, she actually fit the part and wasn't a wannabe…
Realizing he was thinking about his old friend on accident once again, he immediately screwed up his face and forced himself into thinking blank thoughts.
None of that right now, Silver.
He then looked at the new Pokémon again. It appeared to be strong for something so low level. He and the Pokémon eyed off at each other; apparently Totodile liked the look in its new trainer's eyes, as it nodded slowly at Silver, agreeing to comply to his orders if need be.
Satisfied, he was about to place the new Pokémon onto his belt when he heard loud footsteps that caused him to focus his attention on the entrance to the clearing. He saw the two newbies breathing hard as they stopped near the pond.
The girl gasped out between breaths, "I bet you Totodile's around here."
Deciding he was caught in the act anyway, Silver, ignoring his intuition, which told him to run away, replied, "You are correct. Totodile was here, until I captured it. It's mine now, so you two might as well go on back to the lab and cry to that professor of yours on how you both failed miserably. Both of you are too weak to get Totodile back from me."
This caused the two to turn around and focus on Silver, who decided it was best to show off his latest catch. After all, he was more a trainer than those two combined, so really, he had nothing to worry about; neither would be a threat.
"Oh yeah?! I'll show you then! You can't just steal Professor Elm's Pokémon like that! Wolf, hold my bag. I'll teach you both what this lab assistant can do! Hino, let's get Totodile back!" The boy, Gold, called to him apparently furious that he had taken Totodile.
Silver felt very tempted to pull the whole "finders keepers" line.
Silver watched the low-level fire mouse bravely step up to battle. Really, he wanted to laugh at the scene. "Hmph. What a weakling. That Cyndaquil's flame is all show, no doubt. It probably doesn't even know how to use Ember yet. And, I've got the type advantage. You'll be a cakewalk. Just don't cry when you lose, kid," he taunted.
"Arggh! I'll make you eat those words! Send out your Pokémon, thief! Let's battle!"
Feeling smug, Silver complied. "Whatever. Fine, then. Totodile, handle this Cyndaquil. Go!" He watched as his new Pokémon joyously emerged from the ball, ready for battle.
From there, the battle was a breeze. His Totodile knew Water Gun, so after a few brief blows, the Cyndaquil would not only be knocked out, but knocked into a lake if his plan worked. Luckily, the foolish boy made it use Smokescreen, providing him with the perfect cover he needed for a quick get away. After all, he didn't want to call too much more attention. He was satisfied that the Totodile could get the job done in a battle against a newbie.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the girl, Wolf, who ingeniously used her Chikorita to secure him into place with a Vine Whip.
Maybe I thought wrong about this girl, just a little. Then again, maybe she just had a stroke of luck…or common sense.
After the smoke cleared, he looked at the girl a bit more seriously and smirked. "Hmph. Knew I'd make a break for it, did you? Perhaps you're not as dense as that kid there."
He turned his attention back to the battle. "Totodile, finish Cyndaquil off! Water Gun!" He put his original plan of knocking the fire Pokémon into the lake into action.
It was a success, and the boy slumped rather defeated. The girl gave him a fierce look from there. He felt almost like she was boring into his soul, which spooked him just a bit. She seemed to smirk at him as well, though she was not as apparent about it as he was. Once more, he had the odd feeling of remembering something, though he could not quite recall what exactly.
He watched the boy plead with this "Wolf" to finish him in battle. Knowing he wouldn't back down from a challenge, he prepared for another round of battle, when the girl spoke.
"Alright. I don't know who you are, or who you even think you are. And you know what? I don't really give a damn one way or the other. All I do know is I hate thieves, and thieves who think they're all that and like to gloat because they won against a rookie trainer are just plain pathetic. You're nothing but a spoiled brat, and it's about time I put you in your place. So, I, Wolf, will bring you down, punk!"
The girl's tenacity caught him a bit off guard. Maybe I did misjudge her just a little…
Either way, he couldn't get an accurate read on this girl, which was a shock for him. Although he was socially inept, he had a way of determining a person's personality and background through pure observation. This girl, though, he could not read at all, which confused him all the more.
Deciding composure was what he needed best, he replied. "Hmph. Big words for a newbie. Sticking up for your rookie friend? Of course, you do appear to be around my age, but that doesn't change a thing. I'm an experienced trainer, so I have every right to gloat if I so desire. I think I'll take it easy on you and keep using Totodile."
Perhaps I shouldn't have said the word "keep". Now they can assume I have more than one Pokémon… Wait… That might not be such a bad thing, after all, depending on how this battle goes.
From the moment the battle began, Silver realized this rookie was good. She automatically started the battle off with a move that exploited his weakness. Deciding to soften the blow a bit, he ordered a Water Gun, which deflected most of the Razor Leaf, though the few leaves that managed to get through struck a critical hit, which caused Wolf to smirk at him.
While Silver was frantic to get the Totodile back up and battling since the last blow startled it, Wolf took the opportunity to immobilize it with a Vine Whip. Continuing, she had her Chikorita slam his Pokémon into the ground repeatedly, not letting Totodile get a chance for recovery. He ordered a Leer, hoping to catch the Chikorita off balance enough for Totodile to break free.
It worked for a few seconds, but Wolf called attention to her Pokémon again, and then ordered it to Tackle Totodile while still holding on with Vine Whip.
Such strategy he never would have suspected from a mere rookie who probably had never even had a trainer battle before. He watched in shock as Totodile was knocked out cold.
"That's it. I won, so obviously you can't gloat. Now, do the honorable thing and give Totodile back. If you do, I'll let the authorities go easy on you. If you don't I vow I will make you regret it! You don't really want to make this issue a personal one between you and I, do you?" Her voice turned menacing. She spoke rather sternly and made sure to put emphasis on the "personal issue" part, dishing it out like a death threat.
This girl intrigued him. He hadn't met a personality quite like that before. She seemed so familiar, but so distant and outlandish.
She could become a powerful ally against Team Rocket…or your worst enemy if you let her.
Deciding he'd stick to his backup plan, he replied to the girl, "Hmph. Beginner's luck. I may have lost with Totodile this time, but that means nothing. Totodile isn't even trained."
He recalled the knocked out Totodile into its pokeball. "I'm not giving it back, and that's my final word. Just remember, this won't be the last you see of me, Wolf. I, Silver, will be keeping an eye out on you. I think I will make this issue personal between the two of us. I'll get my revenge with Totodile, and then we'll see who's gloating. Just you wait. Sneasel, retreat!"
He then let Sneasel out of its ball and ordered Sneasel to use Blizzard as a distraction before recalling it and retreating deeper into the woods. He was pretty certain that the two trainers would not follow in pursuit.
Walking towards Violet City, he kept his distance from actually entering the city by setting up camp outside the limits. He planned to rest for the night before continuing onward to Azalea Town. Thinking back on his encounter, he chastised himself for giving out his name to the girl, whom he was certain would turn his name into the police who would then have a warrant out for him.
Idiot… Way to go, Silver.
At least Sneasel proved useful for once. Blizzard makes a great diversion when need be.
Still though… That Wolf girl… How can she be a rookie and already form such pro strategies? Maybe… Maybe I have seen this girl before. Is it possible she went to Amber's school at one point?
I'll have to keep an eye out for her. She'll be a threat with enough training. Last thing I need is for her to get in my way of destroying Team Rocket.
With this in mind, he settled down for the night, running the same thoughts over and over. Surely enough, he drifted to sleep, where like usual, his dreams were plagued with nightmares of the past. At some point, though, the nightmares ceased for once, and he slept peacefully for the first time in the past two years.