Percy's eyes steadily watched the group of Paraspin Clan trainers. His fist clenched and unclenched at his side. They had long tossed the criminals to the side with ropes tied around their limbs. Now they interacted grandly amongst the crowd, helping carry injured people and Pokémon into the Pokemon Center.
Percy felt a hard poke into his back. A kid only a couple of years older than Percy in a familiar uniform looked at him with a sneer. "Yo," The trainer confronted. "I could tell you were using aura on Horace earlier." He barked. His eyes turned angrier as he looked at Percy's face.
Percy's face scrunched as he looked the trainer up and down. "Leave me alone." He said simply. The trainer lurched forward, his hands attempting to grab Percy's collar. A shoulder slammed into the man, throwing him off balance and causing the trainer to crash into a bystander in the crowd.
Jason appeared next to Percy and raised his voice, pointing a finger at the trainer. "How dare you try to stir up conflict in the middle of this! There are criminals in the streets, and you wanna beat on trainers who took down some of Team Rocket themselves?" Jason's voice carried throughout a large part of the crowd.
Suddenly, many pairs of eyes were on the trainer, who quickly readjusted his attitude. His eyes still had an infuriated glint, but without another word, he turned and disappeared into the crowd. Percy and Jason glanced at each other. "Thanks. If he took that any farther, I would've had a hard time controlling myself." Percy explained.
Jason blew air out of his nose, "I could tell. Was that them? What's their clan name?" Jason asked.
"I'm not 100% sure it's them. They're the Paraspin Clan from Viridian City. They're a mid-tier clan, and this group's leader's name is Phil Leak. I want a little more confirmation before I do anything." Percy explained.
Jason lightly punched Percy's shoulder. "Let's get that confirmation."
Half an hour later, nearly all the Prodigies had arrived at the Pokémon Center. They stood in a corner of the lobby with Ash, who was sitting down. Percy leaned against a wall and had his eyes closed in wait. He was dead tired from his contributions just a couple of hours ago. The cut on his forehead had dried up, and his head was feeling a little better.
Misty was still in the hospital area, but no updates reached the group. Ash was breathing heavily from his dislocated shoulder, and sweat covered his forehead. "I can force that shoulder back in if you want, Ash." Jasper suggested.
"Aurora should be here any second now. She's more qualified." Luna chimed in. Jasper shrugged.
Ash looked gratefully at Jasper, "Thanks, but I'm okay with waiting a few more minutes." He said. The group fell back into silence as they waited. Percy's mind wandered once more, specifically thinking of what kind of fallout this Team Rocket attack would cause. The Gym would be shut down for at least a few days. They already had their hands full, and now this?
"Hey!" A voice shouted in their direction. Percy's head snapped up. A group of dark-uniformed trainers stood in front of the Prodigies.
Percy pushed himself off the wall and put himself between them. Jason joined him at his side. "Can we help you?" Percy asked.
The man in front, Phil Leaks, scoffed. "My friend told me you're starting things with him and my group. You can help by stating your business and apologizing. Within the same breath would be best."
Jason started, "Did your friend run to papa for help?" He laughed.
The trainer who'd confronted them initially stepped forward, pointing at Percy and Jason. "It was those two! He was the one whose aura rose when talking to you." He declared. Percy and Jason evenly watched the group across from them as their leader looked them up and down.
"Your abilities with aura do not matter to me. I will awaken mine soon, just answer me as I have told you to, and we can both be spared a headache." Phil smirked.
Percy and Jason glanced at each other. "Alright, our business was helping the city against Team Rocket and…." Percy said as he made a big show of taking a deep breath. A few seconds passed during which the Paraspin group got outwardly annoyed. "I am not sorry for a thing." Percy finished.
Grace stepped up to Percy, her hands waving in distress. "Hey, why don't we all-" Jasper silently put a hand in front of her. Jason and Percy were involved in this.
"You're aware who you're messing with? I'm going to need both of you to come with us to the Paraspin compound. We need to figure out how to sort this out." Phil smiled knowingly.
Jason shook his head, "I'm afraid we can't do that. We're waiting on a friend here." He explained.
"Ah, you misinterpreted what I meant. You do not have an option." Phil snapped.
Percy raised an eyebrow, "So you're gonna start a battle right here? Isn't that against Pokémon Center policy?" He asked.
Phil smiled again, "We pay quite a lot to this center. Paraspin would give me a slap on the wrist, that's all. Anyway, your time is up. We will take you both with us now." He took a step forward. Phil's group rested their hands on their pokebelts.
Percy raised a finger, "Wait! One second, I need to make a call." Percy flipped open his Pokédex and dialed a familiar number. The Paraspin clan looked at each other, confused but willing to let this play out.
The Pokédex rang twice before an indifferent voice answered. 'What do you need Percy?' Xavier, the Chief Advisor in the Honey Clan, asked.
"Hey Xavier, these guys from the Paraspin Clan are threatening me. They want me to go to their clan compound to 'sort things out'." Percy said. The Clan group watched him with questioning looks. A few of them laughed and joked amongst each other.
'Paraspin Clan? Who's in charge and threatening you?' Xavier asked. Keyboard clicking began in the background of the call.
"Um, I believe it's Phil Leak." Percy answered as his eyes glanced at the man.
"Who're you talking to!" The man raised his voice slightly. Percy held out his finger once more, signaling silence. Phil was compelled to be quiet.
'Phil Leak, what an ugly name.' Xavier commented under his breath.
Percy giggled slightly, "That's what I said. What should I do?"
Xavier mumbled as he looked through a computer screen Percy couldn't see. 'First of all, you should stop getting into trouble. How in the wrong do you think you are?' Xavier said.
"Minimally in the wrong." Percy replied simply. At this point, the only thing holding Phil back was Jason's level stare, as well as the trainers behind the two kids, who looked equally as prepared.
'Hm, alright. Let me make a call, but know if you got the clan into unnecessary trouble, I will not be happy. In a few minutes, he'll be unable to do a thing. Tell him his grandfather should be calling soon.' Xavier abruptly hung up.
Percy pulled the Pokédex from his ear and turned to the Paraspin clan. "Your grandpa should be calling soon. I think you need to leave. You're messing with the poke center vibes on this tragic day." Percy sneered. He was damn tired of these guys. He was uncertain about their strength and influence, but with the way Xavier had handled things with confidence, he predicted Phil wasn't a big fish.
Percy's hand plucked a pokeball from his belt and tossed it between his hands. The Prodigies stood behind him, their own pokeballs in their hands. Tension rose until a clear ringing cut through the air. Phil's pocket vibrated and rang with a call. He looked up at Percy with wide eyes. He scrambled for his Pokédex and checked the name calling him.
Phil looked around his group and muttered, "I need to answer this call." He backpedaled quickly and left the Pokémon Center, the Pokédex pressed to his ear. His cronies followed after him, shooting threatening glances at the Prodigies.
Jasper put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "You ran into them? Were they the people Ash described? What happened?" He rattled off questions without waiting a second. He was equally interested in finding his revenge as anyone there. The Prodigies had instinctively protected Ash and stood with Percy, but Percy and Jason hadn't informed them of their encounter yet. They were still looking for confirmation.
"It was them. Their uniforms were familiar. But please guys…please don't do anything to them." Ash whispered. Some of the prodigies exchanged looks. Not all of them are as kind and forgiving as Ash.
"We won't."
"You don't gotta worry."
"I'll just hate them from a distance." The group affirmed Ash. Percy turned his back and watched Phil argue fervently over the phone through the pokecenter window. He wanted more.
(AN): Hi! I've created an Instagram profile where you can communicate your thoughts about the chapters and see behind the scenes. (@genericguy3005) There will be Q&As as well as polls to help me steer the story to a place its readers are really happy with. You can text me in my dms, I'll answer anyone. The point of this platform is to show as much appreciation to the fans as I can, so please check it out! Throw the account a follow, and a question or two. Even if you just want to ask when the next chapter is coming, you are more than welcome. All it takes is a single person with a good idea, and you can influence the story. If we reach 25 followers, I'll do a week of a new chapter every day. With each follower, I'm more likely to post more. Seriously. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the content! (@genericguy3005)