Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
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Silence. Despite being surrounded by more and more gathering spectators, with 15 members of a terrorist organisation lying on the road and even more Gym Trainers, there was hardly a sound to be heard. New arrivals would ask the people in the back what was going on and then join in the stunned gaping. Erika looked like she was smelling her city for the first time, face scrunched up while getting even paler than her already light skin.
And then they recovered.
"CHAMPION LANCE!"
"OH MY GOD, IT'S LANCE!"
"HE'S SO HOT!"
"What's the Champion doing here!?"
"Man, look at that Dragonite! What a beast!"
"SIGN MY SHIRT!"
"SIGN MY BREATS!"
"SIGN MY WIFE!"
Lance Blackthorn didn't as much as glance at the exploding crowd, ignoring the cheers and screams. Instead, his red eyes with slightly elongated pupils stayed locked on me, staring me down without blinking. A long, black cape flowed behind him in the last turbulence of his landing, dust clinging to his navy bodysuit with orange lining. Fingerless gloves clad his hand, scars covering his fingers, and thick boots covered his feet.
Sweat formed on my brow under the weight of the gaze. There was a physical presence to it, an unmistakable feeling of being scrutinised by a greater predator. My hands curled into trembling fists, everything except the exceptionally tall, lanky, pinkish-red-haired man forgotten under the pounding of adrenaline and aura. Betty whined again and pressed closer to me, the Titan Bagon shivering under the Champion's attention.
Behind the six and a half foot tall man, his Dragonite snorted as it stretched, lazily scratching at its stomach with claws strong enough to demolish steel. While its Trainer was the tallest human around, head poking up over the crowd with ease, the Dragon-Type made him seem puny.
Over nine feet tall, the bipedal, reptilian Pokémon had light orange scales, each larger than my outstretched palm. Its eyes were large and greyish-green, a round snout with small nostrils opening to reveal fangs longer than my fingers before the jaws smacked close with bone-breaking force. A pair of long, thin antennae sprouted from the top of its head with a small horn set between them. Its underbelly was cream-colored and extended from its neck to the tip of its lengthy, tapering tail. The arms were thick and the legs bulging with muscle, ending in three claws each. Dragonite's wings were small relative to its body with teal wing membranes, but 'small' was incredibly relative, and they jetted out a good five feet on either side before the Alpha Dragonite folded them along its back.
Recovering from the unexpected guest, Erika stepped forward and addressed her boss.
"Champion Lance, we were not expecting you-"
"Clearly." There was an underlying growl to Lance's deep voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, Betty shrinking even further behind me. "What is this? Explain."
It very clearly wasn't a question.
"Of course, Champion. This group of criminals broke into the Game Corner, trying to rob it, I assume-"
"You mean Team Rocket?" Even as he spoke of them, he still didn't look away. "Why didn't you say that? They're wearing uniforms. Also, that doesn't explain all the science shit, or the unconscious Pokémon. Explain better."
"Yes, Champion. My apologies, Champion." It was gratifying to see the bitch fidget after she tried to frame us and have us arrested, but that would only last as long as she didn't convince the Indigo Champion that we were guilty. "We were still trying to figure out the details ourselves, but I thought it prudent to detain the criminals-"
"So you handcuff the children without uniforms first?" I almost fell over as Lance finally - finally – moved his eyes away from me and over to Erika, the Gym Leader, trying to match my feat of keeping eye contact, yet failing in seconds. "That sounds stupid. Are you stupid, Erika? Is that it? Are you a mouthbreathing moron, incapable of-"
"Lance."
Glancing over his shoulder, the Dragon-Type Master rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue at the new, sudden voice that interrupted his tirade against Erkia. Dragonite, on the other hand, smiled doofily and waved one massive hand, letting out a deep, low-pitched croon that I remembered from Bill's recording at the lighthouse.
Standing behind the two, the last kaleidoscopic twisting of space fading after their Teleport, were two new figures, one a man and the other a Pokémon.
Like Dragonite, the new Pokémon was
bipedal, but that was where the similarities ended. Its lower body consisted of rounded hips with strong, thin legs that ended in flat feet with three, wide toes. It had a thin green torso with a sharp red plate going through its chest and back, like it had been impaled through the heart. Its arms were green and wiry, a slight spike extending from the elbow. Its head resembled a gladiator's helmet, with a white face, red eyes, and a teal crest with two spikes extending from each cheek.
It was my first time seeing one, but I recognised the Gallade instantly. The Fighting/Psychic-Type crossed its arms behind its back and bowed deeply to first Lance, and then Dragonite, before straightening up and standing at attention behind its Trainer.
Erika didn't get as much as a glance.
The man I also knew instantly, even if it was also the first time I'd seen him in person. Beyond being almost as famous as Lance, I'd seen a picture of him back in his grandfather's house.
Almost as tall as Lance, the first word that came to mind was 'muscles', which was also the second and third word. Completely shirtless, the man's darkly tanned torso was on full display. Every muscle strained against the skin, each strand of individual fibre rippling under a network of veins. He was immensely bulky and wide, yet without an inch of wasted body fat or useless mass. The man's clothing was minimal: a pair of white martial arts pants held up by a black belt and a pair of thick, metal wristbands full of dents and scratches. A hairband kept the long black hair out of his face.
As Bruno, Fighting-Type Master of the Indigo Elite Four, crossed his arms over his massive chest, dark eyes under prominent eyebrows staring Lance down, I was reminded of Champy, Oak's Machamp, back at the lab.
What the hell was he doing in Celadon? Shit, what was Lance doing there?
My heart froze as a thought occurred, despite Lance's displeasure with Erika. Surely the Rockets' connections didn't extend that high, all the way into the Elite Four.
But Bruno was a member of the Pebble Clan, Grant's grandson, even.
Thankfully, Lance rolled his eyes at the martial artist and clapped his hands loudly, getting the attention of everyone.
"Alright, wrap it up! Get them up and in cuffs, all of them," there was nothing subtle about the side eye he gave Erika, the young Gym Leader shrinking into herself a little as everyone looked at her, face hidden behind her hair. "Let's take them…" The Champion looked around searchingly, quickly getting an answer from Bruno.
"The Gym is closest."
Nodding, the tallest person among us – except one guy in the back of the spectators who was obviously crouching a little to make himself shorter – kept going, voice strong and commanding.
"Gym it is. We'll use the Gym Trainers' Rooms. I want them separated." He didn't bother asking for permission. "And someone get Jenny. Could use an actual professional here." The Celadon Gym Trainers shuffled awkwardly at the jab, yet moved forward towards the Rockets, still on the ground.
"And you," I didn't need to look to know Lance was addressing me. I could feel his attention hitting me like sunlight. "Recall your Honedge before I take it out."
Blinking in confusion, I looked over my shoulder for the guy who had cuffed me, only now wondering how Betty had gotten around him to hide behind me. The answer was easy to find, though the Gym Trainer's face was pure white as Honedge floated in front of his throat, a thin line of blood running down his neck where the blade touched skin.
"Honedge." It was promising that the Ghost-Type responded in only four seconds.
"Good. No, leave him be." Lance waved off the group, getting ready to jump me. "I'll take his statement myself."
—-
I stretched my arms as, with a screech of metal, the cuffs holding my wrists together snapped under Bruno's strength, the Elite Four not so much as grimacing at the feat.
"He could be a criminal, you know." Lance pointed out, kicking his feet up on the desk in front of him and knocking a bunch of papers and a photo frame off of it without a care.
"Doubt it," Bruno grunted, moving over to lean against the wall to the side, face neutral as his eyes bounced between Lance and me as he crumbled the metal into a ball and threw it in the trash.
I looked around uncomfortably, hands twitching. We'd gone straight to the back of the Gym and into what I presumed was Erika's office. Sweet-smelling flowers littered most surfaces and hung from the ceiling in pots. The floorboards were in light wood, old and scratched, despite looking newly polished. Book cases covered what space wasn't filled with flowers, except behind the large desk filled with paperwork – or at least it was before Lance threw himself into the chair. Behind the piece of furniture on the back wall was an ancient mural carved into the wood. Detailed, yet faded, figures filled the space, both human and Pokémon, but I couldn't make out the details.
After letting the silence linger, Lance jutted his chin at the chair in front of the desk, throwing a PokéBall up and down casually.
"Sit. Explain."
I did as I was told, eyes on the PokéBall while I talked about 'overhearing' the Rockets talking about the Game Corner and making our plan. I recognised the various scratches that marred the metal, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was Betty's ball Lance was playing with. My Pokémon had been recalled, other than Honedge, and the Champion had confiscated my belt himself.
A slight upturn of his mouth told me that he knew it too. Honedge stirred in my shadow at my emotions, but I forced them down with a deep breath and kept talking. As much as I wanted to, there was absolutely nothing I could do to Lance to get my team back. Even if Honedge attacked, I was certain Bruno could turn the sword into a pretsel with his bare hands.
As my explanation wound down, Lance hummed while spinning Betty's ball on his finger.
"So, you heard about a terrorist base and decided to attack it with your little friends? Despite how that turned out for you on the S.S. Anne?" I nodded reluctantly to Lance's question. "Alright, I respect that. Took balls, if not brains." I blinked at the compliment, surprised.
"Uh, thanks, I guess?"
"Why not tell the authorities?" Bruno came up with a much more sensible response.
"What, like your Clan? Couldn't help but notice that they keep showing up every time I run into the Rockets." Not smart, spilling my suspicions about the Pebble Clan, but I had to know. Bruno was a master of stoicism, staying stonefaced despite the accusation, but I thought I caught a glimpse of surprise in his eyes.
Lance laughed. "Yeah, Bruno, should he have spilt the beans to that old fuck Grant, or maybe Erika, useless girl that she is."
"Talk about your Gym Leaders properly." Lance rolled his eyes at the reprimand.
"Speaking of," I said, "why were you coming to Celadon anyway? You've got good timing." I narrowed my eyes at him, getting an unimpressed snort in return.
"If you're accusing me of working with a terrorist organisation in my own country, you're somehow fucking dumber than you look and sound. Almost as stupid as your name, even. The fuck kinda name is Periwinkle? Are you a five-year-old girl?"
"The fuck kinda hair colour is pink? You get vomited on by a Clefairy?" I shot back reflexively, before freezing. Shit. The guy had me all the way on edge.
Tension filled the air between us again as he took his feet down from the desk and slowly got up from the chair, staring at me all the while. It was a struggle, but I managed to keep eye contact as he loomed over me. Seeing my resistance, a corner of his mouth curled up to reveal a hint of canine.
"Stop it." It was Bruno's turn to roll his eyes, uncaring of the glare he got for ruining the Champions' intimidation attempt. Instead, he looked at me impassively. "Anything else you want to tell us?"
"Nope." Even if I had something, Lance was acting like a dickhead, and I wasn't sure I could trust Bruno.
The black-haired man nodded. "I have called in the League personnel to check the basement."
His moment gone, Lance leaned back against the desk, sending more paper to the floor. "Fucking unbelievable. A whole-ass base, in the middle of a city. You see how much product they'd stolen as well? Erika's gonna be lucky if I don't throw her in jail. After breaking all her bones, of course."
"If she can't do the job, then she can fuck off, simple as that." Lance waved his hand carelessly. " I have no use for incompetent weaklings."
"The Clans won't like that."
"The Clans will do as I fucking tell them, or they can fight me about it." They stared at each other for a while before Bruno inclined his head in my direction.
"We can talk about this later. In private."
Lance grunted and redirected his focus my way. "Whatever. Got more important things, anyway. You, boy." I glared at him, getting a flash of a smirk. He definitely knew my name; he mocked it earlier. "Tell me your price for the Bagon."
Not that shit again.
"Not for sale."
"Try again." The Champion of the Indigo League wasn't so easily dissuaded. "This will be much easier if you cooperated."
"Fuck you." The words were a whisper as they escaped my lips. Again, not smart, but seriously, fuck him. How was he the Champion of Indigo? How was he even an adult!?
No wonder Bruno showed up so quickly. Lance clearly needed a babysitter everywhere he went.
"The hell you say!?" Lance didn't like being talked back to, evidently, pushing off the desk with a scowl. A single step brought him right back in front of me as he glared down at me. "Fucking repeat that."
"I said fuck you!" In for a penny, in for a pound.
"Okay, tough guy," Lance leaned down closer. That close, I could see the process as his pupils elongated and became slitted, see the red darken to the hue of blood. "Let's do it your way. You're being charged as a criminal right now. I can let that stand, fuck, I can push that through." Ice filled my veins at his words, everything except his dumb, smug face fading. "You don't get Pokémon in prison, and someone has to take care of them." I'd never felt Honedge's mental presence so keenly. I felt the phantom sensation of its hilt in my hand and knew the blade was less than a second away. "So, how about that instead, huh? Do you prefer-"
"Lance! Enough!" Lance stepped away, and I let out a deep breath as Bruno came to my rescue. Either because he saved me from prison or from killing the Indigo Champion.
Something about Lance's behaviour had bothered me from the beginning, in more ways than one. Beyond just being unprofessional, there was something familiar about it.
It reminded me of Betty.
Worse, it reminded me of myself.
"Even a fencesitter like you has to admit that letting a kid run around with something like that is stupid! If anyone deserves a Titan Dragon-Type, it's me!" I stared at the Champion of the Indigo League, the strongest Trainer and leader of two regions, as he damn near pouted and whined about not getting his way.
That… that wasn't how I acted, surely?
"I'm more concerned with the camera on his shoulder."
Head snapping around, Lance scanned me and quickly locked onto the shoulder-mounted camera I'd picked up in Cerulean. Faster than I'd seen anyone other than a Pokémon move, he blurred across the room and grabbed the camera, the small device being crushed to pieces as he closed his hands.
Shame I had to ruin his party.
Not.
"It's backed up directly to Professor Oak's lap, so it's already saved." A small lie. It was connected to my PokéDex, but that was in turn connected to the database, so it was, in essence, correct.
BAM!
Both of the Champion's hands came down on the armrests on either side of me, the wood splintering under his strength. Trapped by the corded forearms, I felt a low growl vibrate through his chest and rattle the chair as a snarl formed on his face, his eyes fully slitted. Cursing myself, I couldn't keep it up and averted my eyes to the floor. Shame, humiliation and anger flooded me as he snorted and leaned even closer, pressing the advantage after my submission.
Suddenly, a large hand lined with scars clamped down on his shoulder and pulled him away, Bruno in his face as the two large men glared at each other nose-to-nose. Some kind of silent conversation passed between them as Lance glanced back at me with a different, softer look in his round eyes, before snorting again and throwing my belt filled with PokéBalls on the desk. Shaking his head, the Champion rubbed his eyes while storming out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.
SLAM!
"You have the deepest condolences of the Indigo League." The words sounded routine coming from Bruno's mouth, the large martial artist looking out of place as he crouched down and started picking up the paper Lance had spilt. "I would greatly appreciate it if that footage remained private."
"And what do I care about what you fucking assholes appreciate, huh?" I spit, heart pounding in my throat.
"Not much, I imagine." Standing back up, he straightened the pile of papers before turning to me. For a while, he looked at me with a blank expression, not protesting when I'd had enough and yoinked my belt off the desk. Fumbling with the clasp due to my shaky hands, I instantly felt a little better from the familiar weight. Once I'd sat back down, rubbing my face with my hands, he spoke again. "I have a proposal for you."
"Is it for you and your asshole boss to fuck off and leave me alone?"
"If you wish." I was surprised at the answer. "Otherwise, I have an errand to run in the wilds of Fuchsia. It might take a little while. If you promise to keep that footage to yourself, I will let you join me for the duration."
I stared at him, shocked. Of all the things I'd thought he'd say, inviting me to join him for training hadn't been one of them.
"Why? You don't know me. Why would an Elite Four member waste their time with me?"
"A couple of reasons. One, so you won't release the footage. Two, my family has wronged you. Three," something softened in his inscrutable eyes, " I saw your match against Brock. My grandfather likes you."
I waited for him to continue, yet he simply stared at me, an awkward silence setting over us.
"So, what," I asked, "you feel bad? That's it? You realise how suspicious that is, right? Especially when members of your Clan keep trying to kill me!"
"Then don't come. I'll send you a waypoint, do what you want with it." He shrugged uncaringly, going over to the door. Opening it, he looked at me over his shoulder. I expected a last-minute persuasion attempt, another piece of bait dangled in front of me. "Goodbye."
Click!
Staring after him, I deflated in my chair, covering my face and letting out a muffled scream.
What an absolute disaster of a meeting.
I didn't know how long I had spent in the office, but eventually, I decided to leave before someone came to kick me out. Poking my head out of the door, I didn't see anyone, so I hurried down the corridor and around the corner before anyone could think to stop me.
And slammed straight into someone who fell to the ground with a groan.
"Green?" Sure enough, the girl accepted my hand and let me pull her up, dusting her clothes off with a grumble.
"And here I was going to get Gym Leader Erika to make sure the Champion wasn't too hard on you. Guess I can spare myself the effort."
"You were, huh." The rage hadn't dissipated fully, and it flared back up as her words reminded me of something. She looked at me weirdly, picking up on my voice and moving back as I took a step towards her.
"See," I took another step closer, making her bump into the wall trying to get away, "Erika and her goons were damn fast on the scene, almost like someone warned them. And, before we went down into the hideout, I could've sworn I saw you stuff something back into your pocket. But, obviously, that's wrong, right? After all," another step and we were basically nose-to-nose, "we agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone. And you wouldn't go behind our backs, right?"
As she cowered before me, a small voice in the back of my head told me that I was overcompensating after being shown up by Lance, and I needed to back off, but I smothered it, letting the rage fuel me.
Which left me extra surprised when she stiffened and suddenly raised her head. There were tears at the edge of her eyes, and she was shaking a little, but there was a hint of the new spine Green had developed when she placed her hands on my chest and pushed me away angrily. She wasn't strong enough to move me, but I stepped back with the motion, too shocked to stay.
"Yes, okay, I called my brother! And I would do it again!"
Even though I knew it, it still stung to hear it. "Why!? We fucking agreed to handle it ourselves!"
"No, you agreed!" She pushed me again, but I resisted. "You and Gary! I told you it was a bad idea, I told you! And look what happened!"
"It went fine!" I insisted. Nobody was dead, and we got the Rockets. It was unquestionably the smoothest operation I'd been a part of.
"You almost died, Peri!"
"Almost doesn't count."
"Yes, it fucking does!" She was fully crying by that point. "It really does! I was scared! I was really scared and worried, so I called the adults!"
"The Gym is absolutely in on it! Did you see how quickly that sleepy bitch was to blame us!?"
"Well, maybe if you weren't such an asshole, she wouldn't think that! You have to admit that it looks very suspicious!"
"Looks suspicious!?" I looked at her incredulously. "What, that the other guys were wearing Team Rocket uniforms!? That there was a giant secret base under her casino!?"
"Okay, she acted a little rashly, but so did you! You and Gary riled each other up and wouldn't hear anything against it!"
"And so what if we agreed!?"
"I don't want Gary to turn out like you!"
Silence filled the corridor. Green covered her mouth in shock at her words while I stared at her, feeling the sting burn.
"I-I didn't mean that-"
"Whatever," I cut her off, raising my hands and walking backwards. "Just-whatever. I'll get out of your hair before I drag you or others down to my level." With that, I spun around and power walked down the hallway, ignoring her voice behind me.
"Peri. Peri! I'm sorry!"
I kept moving, leaving Green behind. Though I noticed she didn't try to follow me. Guess she didn't feel that bad about her words.
Whatever.
Rounding another corner as I stormed through the Gym with no direction, passing by several people in officer uniforms, as well as some official black ones with the Indigo symbol over the heart that I didn't recognise. None of them tried to stop me, so I figured I was fine to be out and about.
That was reinforced when I saw Misty leaning against the wall beside a door, the orange-haired girl waving at me.
"Hey. Figured they let you out when Bruno grabbed Brock. Everything okay?"
I nodded, not wanting to get into it. Misty, awesome person that she was, didn't press. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ash's still in there, then?"
She nodded, gesturing toward the door beside her. I nodded and went to start some random conversation to keep my mind off the last two interactions I had, when I stopped.
Maybe it was the argument with Green that had me shaken, but I was hit with a strong desire to make sure Misty and I were okay.
"Hey, listen. I know I haven't been the best at keeping in contact, and stuff, and I'm really sorry abo-" I was interrupted by a raised hand.
"Dude, calm down, it's fine." I blinked in surprise at the easy acceptance.
"Really?" I should've probably just taken the out she gave me, but I wasn't that smart. "I'd have thought you'd be more upset."
My heart sank at the almost sympathetic expression on her face. I really should've taken the out.
"Peri, we've gone for dinner twice, and have known each other for less than a month. I've… enjoyed our time together, and I'm up for another date the next time we're in the same place, but it's not like we're in a relationship. Who knows what the future looks like, but right now we're travelling all around the region, and maybe beyond, separately. Not really the time for going steady, you know?"
"Oh. Right. No, th-that makes sense, yeah." I averted my eyes, wanting to be anywhere else. Her words made perfect sense, and it was a much more mature way of thinking than my own, but fuck me, that still stung. "Hey, listen, I gotta find Gary, make sure he's okay. I'll catch you later, okay?" It was a terrible excuse, and she definitely didn't buy it. It was childish as all hell, yet I needed to get out of there.
"Peri…" Her sigh trailed me down the corridor while I waved at her over my shoulder, cringing at my own behaviour.
God dammit, that was pathetic. I needed to get my shit together. So what if a couple of people I thought were my friends didn't fuck with me as much as I thought? Who cared?
Definitely not me, that was for sure.
I ended up taking the wrong turn several times, lost in my thoughts and feelings, but a helpful young officer eventually pointed me to where Gary was being questioned and even let me know he was done.
It really helped to have friends in high places, apparently. Ash was the only one still being questioned, and I imagined that would only last until the Professor got the news.
By which time I expected to be far, far away from Mt. Oak when it exploded.
As such, I walked right past the pair of policemen stationed outside the room and headed straight in, swinging the door open without care.
"Dude, you're not gonna believe what a fucking asshole Lanc-" I stopped in the doorway, first meeting Gary's panicked eyes that closed in resignation, the boy leaning back in the dining chair he was sitting in.
And then my eyes moved to meet the thunderous glare of Professor Samuel Oak as the grey-haired man turned from where he'd been looming over Gary.
…
"... Wrong room-"
"Sit. Down." Yeah, I thought as much.
The scraping of the chair legs against the floor was deafening as I sat next to Gary at the round, lightly-colored wooden dinner table, both of us doing our best not to look at each other.
The room was bare, nothing much beyond the table, other than a fridge, a bed, and a TV, which left me, unfortunately, deprived of things to focus my attention on other than the very angry man in front of me.
"Well!?" The Professor barked, all but trembling with feelings. In the corner behind him, I noticed Aly, his Alakazam, calmly polishing her spoons while watching.
"Well, what?" I flinched at the furious glare and disbelieving gaping I got from the two Oaks. Okay, Peri, you're upset, but don't blow everything.
"Oh, I don't know, I thought I would just pop by and see-what do you think I'm talking about!?" I'd never heard the man yell like that before, and it didn't feel great that it was directed at me. "I can't believe you, Peri! Either of you, but you especially! What in the world were you thinking!?"
"Well-" I didn't get to say a second word before he cut me off.
"Oh, I know what you were thinking! Nothing, nothing at all, not a single thought running through your head!"
"I-"
"You lied to me!" It was the very real hurt in his voice that stung the most. "You looked me right in the eyes when I asked you to take care of Gary, and you lied to me! Tell me, were you planning this little…" He fumbled for words, another first, "... little excursion, back then!? Well!?"
I hesitated, but it quickly became clear that he was waiting for an answer. "... yes."
"I can't believe this." The Pokémon Professor sounded genuinely shocked. I glanced at Gary for some assistance, but the boy did his best not to meet my eyes. "I trusted you. I-I took you in, I fed you, clothed you…"
"And I appreciate all that, I really do!" I'd had enough of just being lectured at and spoke up to defend myself. "But sometimes, there are things we have to do, things that are necessary-!"
"Do not speak to me of necessity!" He hissed, jabbing a finger in my face. "You don't know the meaning of the word, the dark, depraved places-!" He cut himself off, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. I quickly took the chance.
"But I do! Team Rocket needs to be brought to justice-"
"Whatever the cost." Most of the anger was gone, leaving exhaustion and disappointment. That was worse somehow. "No matter who pays it, you, your team, your friends. You brought children into a life-or-death battle; you brought my grandson into that place despite promising me that you wouldn't let him go down that path."
"Don't talk about him like he's five, he can make his own decisions, right, Gary!?" I looked at him for support again, but got nothing. Whatever had made him willing to talk back to his grandfather on the S.S. Anne, whatever strength the grief had given him, was gone.
"I don't know if I can do this." The Professor rubbed his face tiredly, looking at me like I was his favourite dog who'd bitten someone. "I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you've gone behind my back time and time again."
"Professor, I-"
"Peri, I don't know if I can continue being your sponsor."
It felt like I'd been punched in the stomach, Gary gasping beside me at the threat. It wouldn't take away my license, but I would lose the stipendium Oak gave us, as well as the ability to keep my Pokémon at his Reserve.
But more than anything, it meant he didn't trust me.
"... whatever. I don't wanna be your Trainer anyway." He didn't say anything, simply waving Gary over and gesturing to Aly. "Yeah, get the fuck out of here, you too, coward!" Gary didn't respond to my taunt, eyes locked on the ground as his grandfather grabbed him by the shoulder. "Fuck off, both of you! I don't need your overly controlling, sulking, bitching every time I call you! Fuck you, you pussy, hack, bitch, and fuck you too, you-"
In a twist of space that was nearly unnoticeable, they were gone.
Leaving me feeling more alone than I'd had in a long time.
—-
I spent a long time thinking about Lance's personality and how I wanted him to be. In the anime, he's a good, helpful guy, and in the Manga, he's a villain.
So this is where I landed. A man so strong that he was made the leader of two regions because no one could stop him. Someone who can raise a whole team of Dragon-Types and not just keep them in line, but make them thrive.
Also, not terribly dissimilar to Peri himself.
Peri's behaviour was always going to bite him in the ass. Sucks that it happened at the same time, though, like a combo of emotional gut shots. But sometimes, it has to get worse before it gets better.
When I think about Pokémon, one of the first things I think of is "Journey", and I wanted this story to be that, both physically and emotionally. Peri has a long road ahead of him, and I hope you'll stick with me for the trip.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.