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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"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... seriously, Peri?"
Sweat built on my forehead, eyes wide and panicked as my mouth hung open and words abandoned me.
Fucking say something, Peri!
"... h-hi, Misty."
Brilliant.
"You already said that, dipshit!" A vein near her temple bulged, a tic developing in her eye as her feigned calm disappeared. "What the fuck, Peri!?"
"I-" It didn't really matter that she talked over me, as I still wasn't sure what to say.
"If I had known you'd be such a bitch about it, I'd never gone out with you in the first place, you Lugia-damned child! How is Ash more mature than you, you narcissist, immature-!?"
I kept my mouth shut as the tirade continued. Normally, I'd have fired back by then, and the urge was there, but I'd definitely earned it.
"-tiny-dicked, insecure, Bug-brained, loser up your own ass-HEY! GIVE ME THAT, I WASN'T DONE!?"
The screen shook for a moment, the trees and foliage in the background of wherever they were smearing into indistinct green before a tan face with eyes so narrow they looked shut replaced it, looking away from the camera as he addressed Misty.
"You can have it back when you can talk properly. I get that you're upset, but that's no reason for that kind of language." Reprimand given, he finally turned to face me. Despite coming to my rescue, he didn't seem any more impressed with me than Misty did. "Hello, Peri. I'd started to worry something bad had happened, like you were injured, or even dead. After all, the last time we saw you, we were fighting terrorists in a city you swore was run by a corrupt Gym Leader. For all we knew, you were beaten over the head and taken to some dungeon somewhere, if not killed outright. How nice of you to reassure us. A month later."
It wasn't a competition of who I'd screwed over more, but Brock's semi-nonaccusatory tone stung nearly as much as Misty's outrage. Brock had been nothing but good to me, and hearing that they worried was rough. "Hey, Brock. I-... yeah, I don't have anything. You're right, that was a shitty move, leaving like that. I also got attacked, so…"
He frowned at the news, anger and disappointment giving way to worry. "What!? Are you okay!? Do you need help!?"
"No, no, I'm good, now anyways. It was almost a month ago, and it was a little touch-and-go for a minute, but we figured it out. Espeon got hurt really badly, though."
"Espeon? Peri, what-AAH!"
The display flipped out again, rapidly switching between blue sky and grass-covered ground before it went completely black for a second.
Then, the image came back, filled edge to edge with a single brown eye, the edge of a nose and a cheek with a squiggly birthmark. Something yellow tried to squeeze in, but was pushed out due to Misty's PokéNav being held way too close to the new speaker's face.
"PERI!" I had to turn the volume down, Ash's high-pitched voice blaring from the speakers. "THERE YOU ARE! WHERE DID YOU GO, WHY DID YOU LEAVE, DID YOU AND GARY FIGHT, WHY IS GREEN SAD-!"
"Whoa, slow down, dude, I can't answer you when you're talking so fast! And pull the screen away from your damn face!"
Ash withdrew the screen from inside his nostrils, the rest of his round face appearing, alongside Pikachu on his shoulder, who squeaked when he saw me and waved frantically.
"Hi, Peri!" Ash beamed at me unrestrained, acting like nothing was wrong.
"Hey, Ash. Sorry, I didn't call."
"Oh, that's okay, I know you're a busy guy!"
I snorted lightly. "That doesn't mean I need to be an asshole about it." Still, the easy acceptance was nice. "You're a good guy, Ash. I don't tell you that enough."
He blinked, looking taken aback, which hurt, but fair.
He lit up quickly, though. "Thanks, Peri! You're pretty cool too! Where are you, we can meet up!"
"Yeah, maybe," I said noncommittally. Now that Bruno was gone, I couldn't delay making a plan any longer. "Hey, can you give the PokéNav back to Misty? I'll call you and Brock later, but I owe her a conversation."
He didn't get a chance to answer before the screen shook again, and the apparently lurking Misty's orange hair dominated the picture.
"You're damn right you do! The hell were you doing, bailing like that!? You didn't even sign out of your room, you moron! Do you have any idea how overworked Nurse Joy already is without having to run around checking if childish dickheads jump out the window!"
I hadn't even thought of that. "I don't know what to say," admitting that probably wasn't my best move, but honesty was the only thing I had left. "I… everything blew up in my face at the same time and I just… yeah."
"It's not okay, Peri! I've been incredibly graceful and understanding of your shit, but the least I expected in return was the bare minimum of communication-!"
"SHEEE!"
BOOOOM!
"What was that!?"
Somehow, in the excitement of it all, I'd forgotten that I had a newly evolved, Titan Shelgon behind me – surrounded by Pokémon who were, if not actively hostile, still on guard around her.
"Well, Betty's evolved," I turned the screen, both to show her the easily mistaken for a boulder Shelgon and to see her struggle to get up from her lying position myself, "so currently trying to deal with that. Honestly, it's not a good time to talk, but I figured I'd do it before I pussied out again."
She growled, but then looked over her shoulder when Brock said something. I couldn't hear her response, but when her face returned to center frame, she was glaring at me and pointing a finger at the screen.
"You're so fucking lucky that's a good excuse and that we're near Fuschia City, or I would continue to rip your ass to pieces! This isn't over, you dumbass! I'm gonna call you tonight, and you better pick up, do you understand!?"
"I understand." I nodded, making the movement as serious as I could.
"Good!"
I didn't get the chance to say goodbye before my PokéDex went black, reflecting my nonplussed face.
Fuschia City, I mused while hurrying over to my team. That meant that they weren't that far away. If I really wanted to, we could probably meet up within the week.
But was that what I wanted? To try to return to how things were before I left Celadon.
It would make things easier. But that was moving backwards, not forwards.
Contrary to what I thought, it wasn't one of the teammates who'd pissed Betty off.
Instead, it appeared our invisible stalker hadn't learned its lesson from earlier in the day.
Rock rumbled and parted as Betty lifted a thick leg and brought it down with a grunt, yellow eyes narrowed and glaring. In response to her movement, a pillar of stone as big as a tree that would've made Bruno grunt in appreciation rose from the ground. For a moment, it looked like the Rock Tomb hit nothing. Then, reality itself seemed to waver and break, an illusion shattering like glass to reveal the black and furry Pokémon that had trailed us from Celadon. It hit the ground and bounced twice, rolling in the dirt, only to seemingly implode on itself and vanish again.
"Ey, ey, stop that! I told you to leave it alone!" Another roar was my only response. The rest of the team was staying out of it, watching from the sidelines with an eye on both Pokémon, and I didn't want to make things worse by having them interfere with the Shelgon. "Betty, I'm talking to you! BETTY!"
She wasn't listening. Rather than stopping, I heard a deep, heavy sucking sound, like wind howling in a cavern.
And the world turned purple.
A tsunami of dragonfire erupted from within the bone cocoon, an all-consuming inferno that swallowed the horizon. It didn't have the sheer viscosity, if that was the right word, or density that Sol's flames had, but it was nearly as wide, a sweeping tidal wave that ripped, tore, and devastated everything in front of it.
Including the spot I was crouched over, back towards Betty and covering the wild Dark-Type with my own body. Honedge was pressed against my back within his sheath, struggling to maintain his weak Protect that was all keeping us alive. I couldn't see the technique, but fragmented glimmers of green twinkled around me as the monstrous Dragon Breath ate at the shield. Thin shards of stone flew past us and slowly grew closer as the Protect dissolved, the last nice shirt the Sisters had bought me in Cerulean being ripped apart before the chips did the same to my skin.
The attack ended before I was turned into salsa, but I ended up with more than a few shallow cuts across my sides and shoulders.
Low price to pay for running in front of Betty's Sheer Force-powered Dragon Breath.
"You good?" I panted towards Honedge. I didn't get a response, but I didn't expect one from the silent Ghost either. Protect had come fairly easily to him, yet I still mentally noted that I needed to spend an extra long time polishing his blade that night.
After a patting Honedge in thanks, making sure the roars and growls I could hear from my team wasn't a physical fight – thankfully more of a very loud debate as they had all seen me run in front of the attack – and making sure Siren didn't break out of her ball, I straightened up with a hiss from my skin pulling at my new wounds and looked down in front of me.
"1-2 in your favour. That almost makes us even in terms of saving each other, huh?"
Greenish-blue eyes looked up at me beneath red eyelids, a pair of circular, eyebrow-like red markings above them that contrasted with the slate-gray fur. The ears were triangular in shape with dark interiors, and resting between them was a large, red-tipped tuft of fur that reminded me of Vulpix's pompadour. A ruff of black fur hung around the fox's neck, the rest of the body more gray, except for the four short legs with red paws, like it was wearing socks.
The Zorua blinked at me, confused, before looking down at its own body. Apparently, it thought it was still invisible as it jumped upon seeing itself, the grey Pokémon wavering mid-air and turning into a rock that hit the ground with a thump!
"I hope that was a distraction so you could run away, because I know you're not a rock." I deadpanned, poking said rock with my finger.
It wiggled a little further away before going still again.
I grunted as Espeon jumped on my back and crawled further up, rubbing her cheek against mine and purring obnoxiously. Vulpix was right on her heels, but when she reached us, her eyes locked on the 'rock' and forgot all about us. She sniffed furiously at it, eyes lighting up when it scooted further away and started pawing at it playfully.
Espeon growled low in her throat and moved down from me. She grabbed Vulpix by the scruff of her neck – despite actually being slightly smaller than the Ice-Type – and dragged her away from the disguised Zorua, sniffing at it disdainfully.
"Please don't, I need some of you guys to be just a little bit reasonable," I pleaded to my Psychic-Type, going ignored as she started grooming Vulpix. I sighed. "I already miss you being all serious and reserved. "
Turning back to Zorua, I picked up the 'rock', feeling the fur and different proportions under the illusion. I always liked Zoroark and remembered the PokéDex talking about making illusions that felt physical, but maybe that was after evolution.
"Okay, buddy, I've been fine with the situation so far since you've been nothing but helpful – and hungry – but you've gotta leave Betty alone. She will eat you with zero remorse, and I won't always be there to save you."
A brief shiver ran through the rock, but beyond that, nothing.
I opened my mouth to go on, but was interrupted by the crunch of gravel under feet from behind.
"While the similarities are uncanny, especially in terms of intelligence, I have to tell you that it is not Bruno you are talking to. Or perhaps you have finally lost it and meant to speak to a rock, in which case, carry on."
I snorted at Koga's words, not bothering to look at him. Espeon had stopped licking Vulpix's fur, both the small Pokémon tense as they picked up on my mood. A slight rasp let me know Honedge had drawn a sliver of blade. "Right, like you don't see right through the illusion."
He hummed. "Terribly useful Pokémon, Zoroark. Illusions capable of inflicting real damage are usually reserved for the highest of Ghost, Dark, and Psychic-Type Masters. If they were not so awfully rare, the League would use them by the hundreds. Very expensive."
Zorua shivered again, feeling the atmosphere.
"I'm sure they would. Unfortunately, this one is mine." I said as firmly as I could. The fox had been following me for over a month. I'd take that as wanting to hang around.
My words lingered, silence settling between us, other than the sounds of my team arguing. They had grown used to Koga popping up wherever he felt like it and didn't see him as a threat anymore.
"So you have already caught it, then? Interesting. Did you send your Feebas back to Oak, then? You only have seven slots, and I count seven Pokémon."
I swallowed hard. "Y-yeah. That's exactly right. I have the ball right here." Thanking every Legendary in existence that I kept a few empty PokéBalls on my belt for easy access, I grabbed one of my only Great Balls. I slowly raised it towards the disguised Dark-Type, praying that it understood the situation well enough not to struggle. As my hand approached, I exchanged glances with my nearby team. As soon as the ball touched the Dark-Type and it was sucked in, they leapt in front of me while I shot to my feet and into a fighting stance. I kept the Great Ball behind my back, feeling Zorua struggle within. Maybe under different circumstances, it would've broken out. However, I'd caught it off guard and between it and another threat, so even though the blue cap jumped and threatened to tear off the bottom piece, there was a small click! as it went still.
The ball remained in my hand, but I knew that the Zorua within was back at Oak's Lab. The anime teleporting PokéBalls weren't quite a thing, but the energy within could.
"Ah." We tensed even more, bracing for the Master's reaction. "I have been tricked. Drats. You got me."
Looking at his usual smile and complete lack of surprise, I deflated with a huff, waving down my team.
He already knew that Zorua was wild. He'd just been lurking to fuck with me, make me think he was going to swoop in and capture it right under my nose.
"Fuck you. I don't have time for you and your cryptic bullshit right now. Why are you here?" I grumbled. Sol and Hercules were trying to scold Betty for her reckless behaviour, but she wasn't having it, roaring at them defiantly and even trying to bodyslam Sol.
"This is my clan's territory. What are you doing here?"
"Apparently, I'm being jerked around by a dickhead!" Not wanting to deal with both issues at once, I returned Betty to her ball. She also tried to break out, but eventually settled.
Mostly.
"That Zorua has been following you for weeks. I did you a favour. You should thank me for being such a nice guy."
I couldn't help but laugh at his words.
"'Nice guy', yeah right! Even though you're up to your armpits in shady shit."
"Me?" For what it was worth, I couldn't see anything wrong with his innocent expression. I just knew he was full of shit. "I am a law-abiding citizen-"
"Cut the crap. What do you want?" I finally just came out and said it. "No lies, no word games, just fucking whip it out and put it on the table."
He stared at me. Then, abruptly, he tilted his head back and laughed. Genuine, belly-deep guffaws escaped the Poison Master, a display of unguarded emotion he was normally far too controlled for. I'd have thought it fake, but the way he stifled himself into chuckles said otherwise.
Unless that's what he wanted me to believe. Damn Koga, making me even more paranoid than usual.
"'Whip it out and put it on the table'. That's a new one. I like it. What makes you believe I would tell you, however?"
"Who would I tell?" I shrugged.
"The Pebbles, the Waterflowers, Bill Masaki, Samuel Oak."
I pursed my lips, conceding the point. "Fair. Bruno trusts me, though."
"One, no, he does not. Not fully. Two, Bruno is a bad judge of character. He trusts me, after all."
We were silent for a while as I chewed on it. I wasn't sure what made the decision, or why I even considered it, except that Koga might be the first person I'd met who truly didn't care about me. He surely thought about a dozen different ways of using me or getting me out of the way, but the little I could pick up from him and Bruno talking was that he was in some sort of conundrum himself.
"I don't know what to do." I finally said, drawing his attention again. "I feel like I've been half-assing it for a while, trying to… to balance between being a normal Trainer and fighting the Rockets, split my attention, but… it feels like half measures, like I'm barely managing to keep up with both. I don't know what I'm doing, fighting the Rockets, and my team and friends keep getting hurt, but what am I supposed to do? Just forget it? Just ignore that they're out there, doing the same shit they did to me to someone else? And then there's the bounty, so even if I stop, they won't leave me alone. I…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say or how to say it, rather.
He didn't volunteer anything, but once I started, it was like a floodgate had opened. I sat down on a nearby rock and pulled my knees up.
"I've fucked up my relationships with almost everyone I know. I want to blame the Rockets or anyone else, but that's not true. I-... I've just been taking my anger out on everyone else. Dragging them into my shit. And then I screw around for a while, wasting time that I could've spent training, or finding leads, or something. Instead, I goof about and then act surprised when it blows up in my face, or worse, someone else's face."
Espeon and Vulpix both jumped into my lap, pushing each other around a little as they tried to get comfortable. I brushed my fingers through their fur, lingering on Espeon's scar. Evolution had done a lot for the healing process. Even with how fine her fur was, the line across her throat was nearly invisible unless you knew what to look for.
But the rougher areas on her side had nothing to hide them, a pair of pale, knotted spots amongst her pink pelt.
"But how can I just… stop? Not a day goes by that I don't think about them. Ra, Shannon, Rat. I wake up thinking about that lab, about how many more like it they have. Petrel said it was extreme, even by their standards, but what if he was lying? What if it's the norm and I'm just sitting here while they tear innocent Pokémon apart for their sick research? What if…" I stopped, almost revealing more than I should.
What happened when I did nothing, and cannon followed its cause? Because Team Rocket wasn't destroyed in the first game, even though MewTwo blew Giovanni to pieces.
No, instead they went underground. For years, they skulked around in the shadows, regaining their strength and causing who knows how many atrocities.
How could I run around in different regions, acting like nothing was wrong, when I knew that wasn't the truth? Didn't I owe it to someone to do something?
Didn't I owe it to myself?
Koga didn't say anything, sitting down with folded legs as was his custom. For a while, he stared past me towards where Sol and Hercules had started an impromptu race.
Eventually, I concluded that he wasn't going to say anything.
But then he sighed and muttered something to himself. I didn't think I was meant to hear it, but it was a rare instance of Koga underestimating someone. "Oh, what have you done to me, Bruno, you moronic simpleton."
Raising his voice, he continued.
"There is a change coming." The words were as slow as molasses and clearly well thought out, but they came anyway. "Do you remember our first conversation? About Indigo and the Clans?"
I nodded. "Yeah. You talked about the power dynamic between the League and the Clans."
"Indeed." He was silent for another bit. "The structure I mentioned, with the League at the end of the day being beholden to the Clans' resources and power to maintain its relevance, has stood for nearly a thousand years. It is also crumbling as we speak."
"Right," I remembered his words about how PokéBalls changed everything, "I heard something about it, regarding Erika."
"An excellent example. In times past, young Gym Leader Erika's… unflattering public image would not have been such an issue. Not only would the Gardeners' grasp of Celadon be much firmer, but her current abilities would have been orders of magnitude beyond anything seen outside the Clans – or the rare genius. The average person would have been in awe at her might, never realizing that what she showed them was nothing impressive. Even if that veil was lifted somehow, what were they going to do? The Gardeners' Pokémon numbered in the hundreds, while an ordinary citizen would be lucky to have a Pidgey at their side, and even fewer would ever evolve them to Pidgeot. It was only the threat of rival Clans and the wild Pokémon that kept us from the worst tyranny, but few accounts speak highly of the leader at the time."
He smiled at my surprised look. "I find few things more foolish than to lie to oneself for ego's sake. They may have been my ancestors and responsible for the power I enjoy today, but if they were alive here and now, most would rightfully be labelled monsters. It was a different world, a world where might made right."
"Oh yeah, so very different from today." I snorted, which he echoed.
"Touché, as they say in Kalos. I suppose it is more accurate to say that, back then, we did not bother to pretend. Assassination and murders were commonplace, and the threat of a Blackthorn appearing from the heavens and laying waste to your village was never far."
"But that is also the point," he continued. "There are those, like the ones that speak ill of Gym Leader Erika, that wish to make the illusion reality. They wish to do away with the shadow-dictatorship of the Clans and chain us to the will of the people, rather than the other way around. Expanding the Elite Four to four plus the Champion is the first step, but far from the last. Their will be done, we would be little more than League employees."
"Okay, I see how that could be a problem for you." Personally, that sounded pretty good, if not for the League being shit. The Pokémon world's weird semi-feudal system was wacky at the best of times, and very much rubbed against my modern sensibilities. "But how's that a dilemma? Or is it, like, how much you're going to resist the change?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes." He stared at me with those hollow eyes, any hint of life he'd shown throughout the conversation absent. "If you were to remove all the nuance, I suppose it could be boiled down to that: Aid the League or try to destroy it – other than a thin veneer for the public, of course."
The words sent a cold chill down my spine, and I sat up straight, staring at him in surprise. I hadn't thought he'd fully show his cards.
He smirked a little at my face. "That much is useless to you. The other Clans are going through the same, and most high-ranking people know that we are not necessarily happy." I remembered how Walter had been acting with Officer Jenny and his refusal to have the League involved in Clan business.
"'tis quite the topic, back home," he tore me from my thoughts, "what to do. The Elders, fat and arrogant in their power, longing for a world bygone, want to resist. They spin tales of our former glory, how the whole of Kanto shied from the shadows, lest we be lurking in them. They say to rise, join our distant relatives in rebellion and claim the power and influence that is rightfully ours. We are far from the only ones unhappy with the state of things, after all, though most stick to the more… shady parts of society."
My mouth was dry, and my voice came in a whisper. "Team Rocket."
"Amongst others," he confirmed, "though I doubt their goals align as well as they claim. Have you never wondered what formed their group in the first place, or what they wanted? The Johto Rebellion – especially the way it ended and Lance's ascension – left many unhappy with the state of things, people who had become used to using violence to get their way."
"Team Rocket wants to usurp Lance, to-what? Return the Indigo League to the way it was before the Rebellion?" Things were lining up in my head. The Pebbles' hatred for Blackthorn and Lance, Giovanni being a kid fighting in the Rebellion.
"Or so they claim." Koga shrugged, unconcerned with the bombshell he just dropped on me. "Personally, I doubt it, but my decision is not the deciding one."
"I thought you were the Clan head?"
"I am. Yes, technically, I make the decisions, but as I said, the Elders have their own opinions and have accrued quite a following, as have those who oppose them. While things are far from civil war, Fuschia is split almost cleanly in two, leaving me stuck. No matter what I do, I will alienate half of my Clan, and I doubt they will simply accept it."
"Now look at me," there was a soft, bitter edge to his voice, "running around in the wilderness, hunting random low-level criminals coming for your bounty, all because I cannot stand being at home anymore. I avoid my own family so as not to hear their words, skulking around my own compound to refrain from being seen, so I cannot be bombarded by their questions and demands. I pretend to have paperwork to stay away from the family dinners because I cannot take another day of coldness and snippy words, shadowy dealings and double meanings. I was raised on such things, yet, now that they have infected my own household, I grow weary."
"You wanted to hear 'what my deal was'? There it is. So tell me, Periwinkle the Wise, what is a man to do, trapped between his duty and his family? A thousand years ago, the Fuschia Clan head swore allegiance to Indigo. Every Clan Head after did likewise and I was the same after my own ascension. Do I break my vows, or slaughter my own blood? And even then, which half do I kill? The one with my mother, or the one with my daughter?"
I didn't have an answer for that, and he knew it.
"A difficult choice, yes? Take comfort in that, Periwinkle. Despite having more than three decades on you, I am no less lost than you are."
Standing up, he patted me on the shoulder lightly, an unusually affectionate gesture. "I will leave you to your decision-making, do another sweep of the area to take my frustrations out on some poor idiot who thinks to do work in Fuschia territory without my permission. But I leave you with this. Bruno would be disappointed in me for giving such advice, yet such is life."
"You say you are trapped between the two things, but it does not sound like it to me. Rather, it sounds like you have an opportunity."
Something moved over his shoulder. Something with black fur and long teeth, flashes of red and blueish eyes that I felt like I'd just seen. A long, lupine snout opened, bloody and fleshy maw undulating as a razor tongue lashed out.
I blinked, and it was gone.
"Your foe is strong. Too strong for you to fight, and too hidden for you to find. And that is fine because you said it yourself. You have a bounty."
"They'll come for me," I mumbled, seeing where he was going.
"Indeed. So do your training. Get your badges. Grow strong. Try to move on. I hear it is the healthy thing to do. But if you cannot." For the first time, I resonated with his abyssal gaze. "Then lie in wait for your prey and kill every single one of them."
"This is bad advice."
"Yes. Yes, it is." A long mane hung down behind his back, the Zoroark resting its head on his shoulder, blinking into visibility briefly before slowly fading alongside the Poison-Master.
"I will see you in Fuschia. Stay off the road. Half the people there want to kill you. And the rest want your bounty."
I snorted at the assumption that I'd blindly follow his lead but fished out my PokéDex again anyway. Catching Zorua ahead of plan forced my hand again.
There were a lot of calls from Green, Brock, and Ash, with a few from Misty – far less, but that was fair. An unknown number had also been spamming me, which was a little concerning regarding how they got access to my contact information.
What I didn't see was anything from Professor Oak or Gary.
Guess that made the decision easier.
"Peri, is that you, mate!? Blimey, it's been yonks since we had a chinwag! You've been avoiding my calls, old chap!"
"Bill, hey. You still interested in a closer working relationship?"
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Koga is in many ways the opposite of Bruno, which makes them a fun duo.
Man, does he give bad advice, though. Who'd have thought that the semi-sociopathic Ninja (which is just a fancy assassin) isn't the best at mental health?
And Bill is back. Yay(?).
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.