Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

"Who can tell me what types Bug-type Pokemon are weak to?" our instructor, a middle aged woman in the olive green uniform of a Veridian City Gym trainer by the name of Heather asked, pressing her clicker and switching the projected slide to an image of a Caterpie. "Anyone?"

Bug-types are weak to Fire-, Flying-, and Rock-type moves.

Although I knew the answer, I didn’t speak up. Instead, I sat sullenly in the back row, chafing at the waste of time this week was shaping up to be. I should be out training or trying to find leads on a way home, not locked up in a class designed for children.

"Bird Pokémon?" a kid, barely the legal trainer age of sixteen, said hesitantly.

"Correct!" Heather said, clapping her hands obnoxiously. "Bug-type Pokémon are weak to Flying-type Pokémon."

Wrong. Bug-type Pokémon were weak to Flying-type moves, not the type of the Pokémon. A Spearow using Fury Attack is only doing Normal-type damage.

I’d arrived at the Viridian City Gym and its attached Trainers School a little before eight in the morning, Ace riding in his usual spot on my shoulder, and a can of Sitrus flavoured energy drink in hand. We were both exhausted, having spent the day before once more trampling about in the long grass beyond the city walls, grinding against wild Pokémon to improve our abilities and work on new moves, not returning until it became too dark to continue.

I’d also forgotten to apply my Rawst Berry sunblock in my rush to make up for lost time after waking so late, so I was an angry red everywhere bare skin showed - my neck especially badly burned after a day in the sun. It was worth it, though. We’d made great progress towards our goals and I could tell Arashi was starting to feel more comfortable with us the more time she spent out of her ‘ball.

Ace had managed to work out Swift and could now comfortably fire the move several times before exhausting himself, though he still had to work on targeting. It might be a move that always hits, but only if you actually aim it at your opponent first and not fire it off randomly in excitement.

Arashi’s accuracy, on the other hand, had greatly improved and she was now able to hit moving targets with her Thunder Shocks far more often than not. Her Static was also coming along nicely, rapidly nearing a point where it became second nature and mastery was likely only another day or two of training away.

"And who can tell me what type of Pokémon Pikachu is?" she continued, switching her slides to show the fat yellow mouse.

"A Lightning-type!" a teenage girl squeed. "Just like my Pichu!"

I rolled my eyes so hard they hurt. Worth it or not, my exhaustion and my sunburn seriously sapped my patience. I understood that this course was designed to teach new trainers the knowledge and skills they’d need to survive once they left the safety of the city, but this was just too much.

This wasn’t like asking random people in my world about Pokémon. The people in this world literally lived alongside Pokémon every day of their lives. Knowing this stuff should be second nature to them. Not only that, but the people in this class were the ones that liked Pokémon enough to want to train them! How could they know so little?

"Who can tell me what Metapod evolves into?" Heather asked.

"Duh, Venomoth," said a different teen boy. “Everyone knows that one.”

"Do I have to attend these classes or can I just come back on Friday for the exam?" I interrupted the class, my arm raised though I never waited to be called on.

Heather turned a filthy scowl on me, her eyes lingering on my piercings and uncovered tattoos. I’d chosen to wear a short sleeve top instead of my usual long sleeves since I would be inside all day.

"I don’t hear you giving any of the answers, if you are so confident, Miss…?" she said, eying me up and down, judging me.

"Chloe," I told her. "Look, I get you’re just doing your job and some of these runts obviously need schooling (it’s Butterfree, you idiot), but forcing the rest of us that already know this shit to sit through it when we could be out training is insane."

"Very well, Miss Chloe," she said coldly. "If you feel you do not need this class, how about you prove it to us?"

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" I asked, doing my best to ignore the eyes of the rest of class now locked onto me.

"You have a Pokémon, correct? Let’s have a battle," she declared. "I’m sure the rest of the class will enjoy the practical demonstration."

I grinned.

"You’re on."

—

"This will be a one on one battle," Heather declared. "Switching and items are not allowed. The battle will end when one side’s Pokémon are no longer able to fight."

Following her challenger, Heather had marched out of the room and the class had filed out after her, following her through the maze of hallways as she led us to an enclosed arena roughly the size of a basketball court with raised seating around the edges, located deeper into the Gym building.

The arena itself was mostly a flat dirt field scattered with small boulders and scraggly bushes in an attempt to replicate a natural environment. A single tree grew near the centre and off to the right of the entrance, and a small stream snaked diagonally across the field for Pokémon that required access to water. Painted white lines on the ground outlined the boundaries of the field as well the two smaller squares where Trainers would stand to give orders.

"Are you ready?" Heather shouted as she took her position in the square across the field.

"Ready!" I called back, my heart pounding with excitement and nerves as I took position in my designated square.

Viridian Gym, like all gyms, focused on a single Pokémon type. Rock-types in Pewter, Water-types in Cerulean, etcetera. Viridian of the Pokémon games and thirty years ago had hosted Giovanni, the Ground-type Gym Leader. Here and now though? Viridian was all about Bug-types.

Bugs were infamously weak in the games but that was more because of the sheer number of weak Pokémon that happened to be Bug-types, not because the type itself was weak. A Scizzor, Heracross or something rarer like a Galvantula would likely give my Pokemon a run for their money.

But I was betting that she had something local.

Something from the Caterpie, Weedle or Wurmple lines were the most common Bug-types found in and around Viridian Forest. Spinarak or its evolution Ariados were also possibilities, but something about her told me Heather wasn’t the type to train a spider Pokemon.

With no Fire-, Flying- or Rock-type moves in our arsenal, and the heavy use of status moves Bug-types were known for, Ace was out for this fight. While his Swift gave him the range if she sent out a flier, the risk of String Shot turning him into a sitting duck while poison whittled down his health was too high.

That just left Arashi.

“Three! Two! One! Go, Butterfree!” Heather counted down, throwing her PokeBall on Go while I did the same.

Her Butterfree, a blue and purple Pokemon with large black and white wings, resembling an extra large butterfly, appeared on her side of the field at the same time Arashi materialised on mine, her wooly body crackling with electricity as she began using Charge from the instant she was released - a tactic we’d been working on and one I was pleased to see in action.

“A Mareep?” Heather said, dismissively. “Class, who can tell me what type Mareep is?”

“It’s an Electric-type,” said an older gentleman from the stands, a Vulpix curled up on his lap.

“That’s right,” Heather said. “And Butterfree, like its Caterpie and Metapod stages before it, is a dual Bug- and Grass-type, meaning it easily resists Electric-type attacks.”

I couldn’t help it. I immediately started laughing, losing it at the absurdity of the claim and the confidence with which she’d delivered it. She was right that Butterfree was a dual type Pokemon, but those types were Bug- and Flying-type, and Caterpie and Metapod were both Bug-type only. Gym trainer or not, this woman was a clown.

“Butterfree! Sleep Powder!” she screamed, her face glowing bright red with anger. “Show this thug not to look down on a Viridian Gym trainer!”

“Excuse me? Thug?” I said, regaining my composure. “Let’s end this farce. Arashi, Thunder Shock.”

Butterfree danced through the air, spinning and zipping about, rapidly closing the gap between the two while trying to keep its movements erratic enough they couldn’t be predicted. It showed a level of training a step above a novice trainer that only blew my mind further knowing its trainer didn’t even know its correct typing.

Unfortunately for the agile Butterfree, Arashi had been practising hitting moving targets against Pidgey and Spearow all weekend, and the Thunder Shock she fired off slammed into it like the fist of an angry god as the Charge-boosted same-type-empowered move dealt super effective damage.

Butterfree hit the dirt like a rock.

“Good job, Arashi,” I told her. Arashi snorted in disgust then looked at me as if to say You bothered me for this? I held out her PokeBall and thumbed the return. “Rest now.”

“Butterfree! Get back up!” Heather shouted. She pointed a finger at me. “You! You’re not a novice trainer at all! I’ll have your Pokemon confiscated for training without a licence!”

“That’s enough, Heather,” said a deeply tanned brunette woman, walking onto the field.

“But Suzie-” Heather started to complain.

“Enough!” the other woman snapped. “Return your Pokemon and see that it gets medical attention.”

“Y-yes, Suzie, right away,” Heather returned her unconscious Butterfree with a beam of red line and hurriedly started towards the door.

“And Heather,” the tanned woman called to her.

“Yes?” Heather asked, pausing to look back.

“It’s Gym Leader Suzie, make sure you don’t forget again,” Suzie said.

“Of course, Gym Leader Suzie,” Heather replied. Chastised, she fled the arena, staring at the ground as she left.

“Now, who can tell me why this matchup was so one sided?” the Gym Leader asked, turning to face the dumbstruck class still glued to their seats.

“Becau-” I started.

She cut me off with a raised hand, not even turning to look at me.

“Who else?” she clarified.

“Butterfree is not part Grass-type, as the instructor claimed,” the old guy from earlier spoke up again, his arm held in the air. “It’s Bug- and Flying-type. Mareep’s Electric-type attack was extra effective.”

“Correct,” Suzie said. “What’s your name?”

“Raymond,” the man said. “Raymond Quartly.”

“Congratulations, Raymond Quartly, you just earned the rest of the day off,” Suzie announced. “I will see you tomorrow morning.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Looking unsure if he was being rewarded or punished, Raymond set his Vuplix down, stood hesitantly and then made his way from the arena.

“The rest of you, please return to your class room and await your replacement instructor,” Suzie told the class.

Talking softly amongst themselves, the class rose from their seats and shuffled out after Raymond.

I started to follow them.

“Not you,” Suzie said, her voice cracking like a whip.

Once the arena was empty, she turned to face me and tilted her head to one side as if trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Just like her Gym trainer had, the Gym Leader’s eyes lingered on my tattoos and face piercings.

“Look, Gym Leader Suzie, was it? I’m not looking to cause any trouble,” I said. “I just wanted to sit my exam so I can move on.”

“That eager to face the Gym circuit?” she asked, her voice suddenly soft and cruel. She shook her head with disgust. “Punks like you are why so many trainers are dying these days.”

“Punks like me? Fucking excuse me?” I said, raising my voice. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“I am the Gym Leader of this city,” she answered, raising her voice to match me. “And I am the one who decides if you become a Pokémon trainer.”

“Fuck you,” I said. “I am so tired of this bullshit. You see my ink and my piercings and you think you know me. But you don't know shit.”

“I know your type,” Suzie sneered. “With your gang markings and your problems with authority. You're a deviant. Viridian would be better off without your kind.”

“That's it, you and me, Pokémon battle,” I declared, my face burning with my anger. “I'll show your stuck up ass just who I am.”

“I refuse,” the Gym Leader replied dismissively. “As an unlicensed trainer, you're unable to issue challenges. Besides, you would lose.”

“Fuck you and fuck this,” I shouted at her. “You can take your licence and shove it up your ass.”

I turned and started to stalk out, ready to leave this city and make my own way in the world, trainer's licence be damned. If people were going to keep looking at me like a criminal, then I'd just act like one.

“You think you can prove you're a real trainer and not just another low life using Pokémon for their own means?” Suzie called.

I flipped her off over my shoulder, refusing to give her the satisfaction of replying.

“Complete my challenge,” she called, causing me to pause a few steps from the door. “And I'll give you your trainer's licence, and I'll throw in the Viridian Gym badge too.”

“Venture into Viridian Forest,” she continued when I didn't make any further moves. “Retrieve the flower of a Jewel Orchid and return it to me before the trainer's class ends on Friday.”

I wheeled around, my fury writ across my face and sneered at her.

“I'll find your flower,” I snarled at her. “But you can shove your badge. I'll take that from you when we crush you in a real fight.”

“I look forward to it,” she replied.

—

“Chloe, you've been out of my sight for less than a week,” Oak said over my Pokedex speaker. The call was audio only, but I could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke. “Explain to me why I have just had two separate calls from the League about your behaviour?”

I was marching north on Route 2, half way to Viridian Forest, when the call came through. I was still in a filthy mood and I’d considered not answering but decided ignoring my sponsor was probably not the best idea.

“My behaviour?” I snapped at him. “Everywhere I go, Gary, people treat me like I'm some kind of criminal!”

Oak sighed.

“What happened?” he asked, genuine care in his voice and I immediately felt guilty for yelling at him.

“The teacher or Gym Trainer, whatever they were, didn't know Butterfree was part Flying-type,” I said. “I corrected her.”

“Accordibg to the report sitting in my inbox, you disrupted a mandatory trainer accreditation class, challenged the instructing Gym Trainer to a battle, then used a borrowed Pokémon to make a fool of them,” Oak read aloud.

I stopped on the side of the road to take a drink from my water pack, the cool rubbery bladder sitting between my back and my pack, and offered some to Ace riding in his usual spot on my shoulder. The sun was blisteringly hot but I'd remembered my sunblock this time and had purchased a wide brimmed hat on my way out of the city.

“It doesn't say borrowed, does it?” I asked, hearing the stress he'd put on the word.

“No,” he confirmed with another sigh. “They're accusing you of stealing a more powerful Pokémon.”

“Arashi is not stolen,” I told him, starting on my way again. “We've been training hard the past two days and we had a type advantage.”

“I believe you,” Oak said. “The accusation is baseless anyway, they have no evidence to back it up and I’ve already had it stricken.”

“What was the second call?” I asked, wiping sweat from my brow.

“Hmm?” Oak hummed in question.

“You said there were two calls,” I reminded him.

“Oh, yes, the second report claims you disrespected an official Pokemon League Gym Leader and told her to ‘shove her badge up her ass’”.

I laughed. Just a single snort.

“That one's accurate,” I confirmed. “But she started it, called me a thug and a deviant, then challenged me to find a stupid flower.”

“I'm afraid this is serious, Chloe,” Oak said. He sounded tired. “The League has placed a demerit on your file. Three demerits and they will suspend your licence and seize your Pokémon.”

“What? That's fucked up!” I complained.

“I agree,” Oak said. “But it was all I could do to combine the complaints into a single demerit rather than two separate ones.”

It was my turn to sigh. I took a deep breath and blew it through my nose.

“Chloe, I know things are different where you are from,” Oak said, careful not to mention other worlds. “But have you considered covering your tattoos and removing your piercings?”

“Of course I considered it,” I said. “That first day with the doctor, I considered it. But then I decided it wasn't me who needed to change.”

“Very well,” Oak said, choosing not to argue the matter. “You mentioned a flower?”

“Mmhm, the Viridian Gym Leader called it a challenge,” I explained. “Find the flower of a Jewel Orchid somewhere in Viridian Forest and return it to her by Friday, and she'll give me my licence.”

“A Jewel Orchid? Hmmm,” Oak said, and I could hear the clack clack clack of him typing on a keyboard. “Oh boy, that's a pretty rare flower. It says here Jewel Orchids are known for their velvety maroon foliage with red veins and white flowers with twisting yellow columns that grow in clusters.”

“Awesome, red leaf, white flower,” I said. “Does it say where I can find it?”

“It can be found growing on the forest floor in areas of high humidity and low light,” Oak said. “So look for somewhere warm, damp and dim.”

I considered that for a few minutes. Could Ace or Arashi help me find it? They had better noses than me, they might be able to sniff it out. Or maybe I should try to catch a Bug- or Grass-type that lives in the forest. They might already know how to find it.

“Shit,” Oak cursed, abruptly pulling me from my thoughts.

“What?” I asked. “Someone else complain about me?”

“Worse,” he replied. “Someone recorded your battle and they just posted it online.”

“Good,” I said, a cruel smile finding its way to my lips. “Let everyone see what an idiot she is.”

“Maybe,” Oak said. I could hear him typing in the background once more. “I need to go take care of this, Chloe. Please try not to cause any more trouble.”

Oak ended the call before I could say anything further. I wasn’t worried. I knew from my time at his lab that he had PR people that he would use to put out any fires, and to be completely honest, it was hard to care about what people thought of me in a world I didn’t plan on staying in.

We’d set out from Viridian City straight after my confrontation with Gym Leader Suzie, sometime around 9:30am, and made good time traveling north on Route 2 the past few hours. Once, Route 2 had been the only road from Viridian City to Viridian Forest and beyond, to Pewter City, Mt. Moon and Cerulean City. But a lot had changed in thirty years and a new road, the aptly named Ocean Road, now ran north from Viridian Bay, following the coastline to link up with Celedon’s Route 16 and Pewter’s new Route 3, completely bypassing Viridian Forest.

But despite that, Route 2 was still one of the busiest and safest routes, in all of Kanto, with a near constant stream of bug catchers, Pokemon hunters, trainers, militia and rangers traveling its well worn road between city and forest. Viridian City lived or died on its Pokemon goods trade. The demand for Bug-type silk increased year after year and the number of people willing to venture into the deadly forest to capture Bug Pokemon grew with it.

As such, I wasn’t too concerned about keeping an eye out for wild Pokemon, though I had told Ace to keep an ear open. Not that I expected to see any. With the amount of people and Pokemon on the road, all the wild Pokemon had either been captured or knew to make themselves scarce.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I opened the web browser app on my Pokedex and navigated to the Indigo League forums. While social media was a thing in this world, just as it had been in mine, Penny had explained to me that it was the League forums you wanted for the juicy stuff, the rest was for pictures of cute Pokemon or what famous trainers had been seen having dinner with who.

[VIDEO] Viridian Gym Trainer Gets Schooled

There it was, right at the top of the General section. I tapped the link and continued walking, muting the sound on my Pokedex as a shaky camera phone video began autoplaying. The video started in the arena, with a hushed voice telling the viewer the trainer’s licence trainer had challenged a student. The entire thing was barely three minutes long. Had it really been over that fast?

I scrolled down and began reading the comments.

@ghostlover2680

I HATE it when Gym Trainers shit talk.

In a formal battle, BOTH PARTIES should be PROFESSIONAL.

@mew4lyfe

Not to be rude but I'm surprised so many ppl in the comments are shocked that Viridian Gym are a bunch of idiots. Everyone knows Suzie is a nepobaby.

* @ClankTheTank

How is she a nepobaby? She’s a League sponsored Gym Leader.

* @mew4lyfe

How is she not? Her brother is Forrest the Pewter Gym leader.

@princess_pikachu

Anyone know where I can get a Dark-type Mareep like that?

* @ghostlover2680

It’s not a Dark-type. It’s just a MUTATION. It happens sometimes with Mareep.

@jinxkisser94

This trainer needs to get a life. Anyone that covers themselves in that many tattoos and sticks metal in their face is obviously looking for attention.

* @SendMeSabrinasFeetPics

Go touch grass shes heaps hot

* @jinxkisser94

* I can’t even tell if its a boy or a girl, they’re so flat chested

* @princess_pikachu

* Hey, don’t mess with the itty bitty titty committee!

@SendMeSabrinasFeetPics

Haha suck shit buggerfree

* @mew4lyfe

Haha, right? Imagine a third stage ‘mon losing to a first stage in one attack.

@dragonsrOP

Full video HERE

* @SendMeSabrinasFeetPics

Holy shiet, i’d suck suzie’s toes

@spicylizards4714

I can’t believe ya’ll are grass type butterfree deniers.

Well, it didn’t seem to matter what world I was in, internet comments were gross in both. At least no one seemed to be outright against me. Most people seemed too occupied with mocking the Gym Trainer for not knowing her typing. Half expecting to be redirected to a porn site, I clicked on the full video link.

The new video started back in the classroom, with Heather asking the class inane questions about types. From the video description, the uploader had been recording so they could review later. I scrawled through the video, watching in fast forward as the camera pointed at me interrupting the class, then to the arena and my battle with Heather. I was about to close it when I realised there was still another 5 minutes left on the video.

“You ballsy little shit,” I said under my breath as the video showed the class leaving but the student leaving their Pokedex behind to keep recording as Suzie made her challenge to me.

@SendMeSabrinasFeetPics

Haha i like this chick. Anyone got her feet pics?

* @princess_pikachu

You’re so gross.

@dragonsrOP

Does anyone know anything about this trainer? She said her name is Chloe, right?

* @mew4lyfe

I found her trainer profile. It says she’s from Pallet, wherever that is.

* @ClankTheTank

Kids these days are a lost cause. Pallet Town is the hometown of some of Kanto’s greatest trainers. Samuel Oak, Gary Oak, Ash Ketchum. Learn your history.

* @mew4lyfe

Oak? Like the guy who made the Pokedex?

@mew4lyfe

This proves Suzie is a trash talking nepobaby. Chloe didn’t do anything to deserve that kind of attitude from a Gym Leader.

* @ClankTheTank

Just look at her. She’s obviously a criminal. If a Gym Leader says someone is wearing gang markings, they’re not lying.

* @mew4lyfe

Tauros shit. If every trainer with tattoos is a criminal, they’d have to lock up half of Vermillion.

@princess_pikachu

I think her piercings look really pretty.

* @jinxkisser94

They’re vile. Imagine sticking pieces of metal through your skin like a barbarian. I’d never date someone with piercings or tattoos. SKIN IS SACRED.

@ghostlover2680

THIS is why Gym Leaders aren’t respected anymore. I cannot BELIEVE she spoke to a new trainer like that. And SENDING her into Viridian Forest? Is she TRYING to get her KILLED?

@spicylizards4714

Daaaaaaaaaaamn. The League won’t like this.