(Grey's POV)
The sun had barely begun to rise over the hidden sanctuary when I started packing my gear.
I'm a morning person by necessity these days, but even I was surprised to see Exeggcute already awake and remarkably busy.
It was floating in a small clearing, surrounded by a pair of curious Oddish and a Paras.
Apparently, my telepathic multi-headed teammate had taken it upon itself to act as a guest lecturer.
It was using Giga Drain and apparently was trying to teach it.
It was a strange sight—a bunch of abandoned Pokémon sitting in a circle like students in a lecture hall. I waited for it to finish its demonstration before whistling. Exeggcute gave a final, encouraging pulse to its pupils and drifted back toward me.
I found Melanie near the edge of the village, tending to a wounded Rattata.
I thanked her for the hospitality and wished her luck with the government.
"You should really try to get this place officially recognized as a sanctioned Rest Stop," I told her, adjusting the straps on my pack.
"Trainers could use a place like this to ground themselves between the chaos of the gyms. It could be a sanctuary for people as much as the Pokémon."
She smiled, a bit more confident than she had been the night before, and waved as I stepped back onto the dirt path of Route 6.
According to my map, there was a prestigious Pokémon Tech institute somewhere in this sector.
Normally, I'd be interested in seeing their training methods if any, but I didn't have a second to waste.
I had a self-imposed deadline to hit Vermilion before the S.S. Anne tickets were all gone. I skipped the morning training drills for the first time in weeks. We'd go twice as hard once we saw the reached to vermillion to compensate for that .
By mid-afternoon, I spotted an old-school Pokémon Center tucked away in a grove of trees.
It looked like it had survived several decades of weather, but it was functional. As I stepped through the sliding doors, the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by a loud shout.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?"
I paused, watching as two police officers forced a blue-haired brat toward the exit. He was kicking and screaming, his face flushed with a mix of entitlement and rage.
The officers didn't even blink. They tightened the handcuffs and hauled him out into a waiting squad car.
I walked up to the counter where Nurse Joy was calmly filling out a set of forms. "A bit rowdy for a Tuesday, isn't it?"
She looked up, her expression tired but firm. "That was Damien. We've had multiple reports of Pokémon abuse, illegal abandonment, and carrying nearly a dozen Pokémon without a Professor's authorization or a high-tier Trainer's license. He thought he could leave a Charmander out in the rain on a rock because it 'wasn't strong enough.' Luckily, another group of trainers found the poor thing and brought it here."
I felt a chill of recognition. This was the Charmander incident. If Ash had already saved the lizard and moved on, he was definitely keeping a fast pace.
"How did you catch him?" I asked.
"My Chansey," Joy said, nodding toward the pink nurse-aide behind her. "When he tried to resist arrest and pull out a Pokéball, she pinned him with Gravity. He couldn't even lift his arm to throw."
I looked at the Chansey. She looked sweet and harmless, but the raw power required to exert that much gravitational force was immense.
It made me realize I was neglecting Exeggcute's potential for crowd control. If a Chansey could do it, maybe I could teach Exeggcute a similar move to lock down Rocket grunts. I made a mental note to search the Pokenet for Gravity or Telekinesis TMs later.Heck there could be potential for some gravity training but maybe I can do that later once the pokemons have evolved I dont have a clue if such a thing can even work or what kind of harm it could do to the bodies of my pokemon, only after some research should I try it .
Two days later, the air smelled saltish i guess , almost feeling like we were near a coastal area which would be vermillion.
I reached a small coastal town on the outskirts of Vermilion where a strange parade was happening.
A group of Squirtles—all wearing various styles of sunglasses—were being cheered on by the locals. Apparently, they had just saved the town from a massive warehouse fire.
I stopped at a local shop to restock my Repels and Potion sprays.
While browsing, I saw a glass case in the corner displaying... handguns. Small-caliber, snub-nosed revolvers meant for "personal protection against wild predators." My stomach did a slow flip.
The memory of the Lavender Tower, the sound of the hammer cocking and the Marowak's scream ,hit me like a physical weight. I turned around and walked out of the shop immediately. I wasn't ready to deal with guns again for a while .
I found a local Officer Jenny a different one from Celadon, though they looked like clones whenever I notice them.
She was helping the "Squirtle Squad" coordinate their movements. Since I was carrying the Police Badge of Honor, she welcomed me into the station for a quick debrief on the local area.
"They're good kids," she told me, gesturing to the Squirtles. "Just a bit mischievous. They need direction."
"You should try teaching them to combine Rapid Spin and Water Gun simultaneously," I suggested "If they spin while firing, they can create a water barrier—a 'Counter Shield.' It would let them walk right into the heart of a fire without getting scorched."
Jenny's eyes widened. "That's... actually a brilliant tactical application. I'll have the captain start drills on that tonight."
I left the town feeling a bit better, but the clock was ticking. I pushed through the final stretch of Route 6, deciding to stop for a quick lunch at a scenic overlook facing the Vermilion bay. I had just finished setting out some dried meat and berries when a shadow fell over my table.
I looked up. My heart skipped a beat, then began to hammer against my ribs.
Spiky brown hair. A black long-sleeved shirt. A look of supreme, unearned confidence that usually came with a rich kids bank account and a legendary grandfather.
Blue. Or, as the anime called him, Gary Oak. But in this world, he felt more like his manga counterpart colder, sharper, and far more dangerous. He was staring intensely at Axew.
"That's a rare one," he said, his voice smooth and condescending. "I haven't seen an Axew in Kanto since Gramps brought back a research paper from Unova. You're the one from the exam, aren't you? The top-tier candidate."
"My name's Grey," I said, standing up.
"My name's Blue The future Champion of the Kanto League," he said , He pulled out a red Pokédex—the same model the Pokenet had been obsessing over—and pointed it at Axew. The device chirped: [DATA UNAVAILABLE: SEARCHING INTERNATIONAL DATABASE].
Blue smirked. "Even the Dex can't keep up with you. Gramps will love the telemetry data I'm about to send him. How about a battle? 3-on-3, no swaps. I need a warm-up before I hit the S.S. Anne tournament."
"I'm in the middle of lunch," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
Blue shrugged, leaning against a nearby tree. "I can wait five minutes. I'm in a good mood. I've been scouting for new additions to my squad, and a rare dragon-type is the best motivation I've had all week after my match ."
"I met some people who know a pallet trainer," I said, testing the waters. "A girl named Melanie. She mentioned a kid named Ash."
Blue's face contorted into a look of pure disgust. "Ash? You've been talking to that loser? He's a joke. He's lucky if he makes it to the Indigo Plateau without tripping over his own shoelaces. There are only three trainers from Pallet this year: Me, a guy named Red, and... well, the loser."
Red. So he was here too. The protagonist of the games and the boy who became a legend in the manga.
My "transmigrator" advantage felt a lot smaller suddenly. I was in a world where both the Anime and Manga legends were active, meaning a lot of things that could go bad.
I finished my meal in silence, packed my bag, and looked at Axew. He was already standing, his tusks glinting in the afternoon sun. He could feel the pressure coming off Blue. It was a different kind of pressure than the Rockets.
"Alright, Blue," I said, stepping onto the dirt clearing. "Let's see what your made of"
Third-Person POV
The atmosphere was quiet tense.
To Grey, this was a benchmark a way to see if his grueling training in the Tower and the Tunnel and until now actually meant anything against the possible protagonists.
To Blue, this was a research project. He wanted to see how a Dragon-type pokemon functioned under pressure before he committed adding one to his own team in the future.
"3-on-3. No switching," Blue announced, his hand moving to his belt with practiced ease. "Don't disappoint me, Grey."
Blue clicked a Pokéball open. In a flash of white light, a Charmeleon appeared. It was larger than standard, its skin a deep, angry crimson, and its tail flame was roaring almost ready to battle.
Grey's eyes narrowed. A Charmeleon. In the games, Blue usually took the starter with a type advantage against the player. Generally Blue or Gary has a squirtle line pokemon but In the manga, he took Charmander and Red had gotten a bulbasaur later, This world was leaning more towards being like the manga.
"Axew, you're up," Grey said.
Axew stepped forward, digging his claws into the soft earth.
Blue didn't hesitate. He didn't wait for a "go." He moved with the speed of someone who had been trained by a gym leader. "Charmeleon, Smokescreen!"
The lizard opened its maw and exhaled a thick, oily black soot that billowed outward, swallowing the battlefield in seconds. Grey and Axew were suddenly blinded, the world reduced to a murky darkness.
"Metal Claw!" Blue's voice cut through the fog.
From the darkness, the sound of metal scraping stone echoed. Axew cried out as a steel claw raked across his flank. Then another from the opposite side. Charmeleon was using the smoke to hit and run, dancing through the smog like a ghost.
"Axew, calm down!" Grey shouted, his mind racing. "Don't try to see him with your eyes. Look for the light! Every time he moves, his tail glows. Track the tail!"
Axew closed his eyes, focusing on the shifting orange hue in the blackness. There a flicker to the left.
"Now! Slash combo into Dual Chop!"
Axew spun, his tusks glowing with white energy. He caught the Charmeleon mid-lunge, his tusks parrying the metal claw before his hands came down in a brutal, cross-shaped strike. The impact was heavy the sound of skin hitting skin echoed through the clearing.
The smoke began to dissipate, revealing a battered Charmeleon and a panting Axew. Blue's smirk didn't fade; if anything, it widened.
"Not bad. You can think under pressure," Blue admitted. "But let's see how you handle range. Flame Burst!"
Charmeleon spat a ball of fire that exploded into smaller embers upon impact. Axew dodged the main blast, but the smaller embers stung his hide. He tried to close the gap, but Charmeleon was playing it smart now, keeping back.
"Flamethrower!" Blue commanded.
A torrent of fire surged toward Axew.
"Cross Slash! Parry it!" Grey yelled.
Axew crossed his arms, his tusks glowing as he sliced into the heart of the flame. For a heartbeat, the "X" of energy held the fire at bay, but the raw heat of Blue's starter was overwhelming. The flamethrower overpowered the defense, forcing Axew to roll out of the way to dodge.
Grey realized. "We need speed. Axew, Dragon Dance!"
Axew began a rhythmic dance his body flickering with a blue aura as his Attack and Speed stats climbed.
"I don't think so," Blue countered. "Rock Tomb!"
Charmeleon slammed its claws into the ground, causing massive pillars of stone to erupt around Axew, boxing him in and threatening to crush him.
"Strength and Rock Smash! Use the momentum!" Grey ordered.
Empowered by the Dragon Dance, Axew became a blur of motion. He didn't just dodge the rocks; he used his glowing hands to shatter them. He punched through a falling pillar with Rock Smash, the debris flying toward Charmeleon like shrapnel.
The battle became a chaotic, Axew was firing Dragon Rages in short, concussive bursts to disrupt Charmeleon's rhythm, forcing the lizard to constantly adjust its footing while he was getting in close
Blue thought a bit about how to counter this and realised smokescreen wont work as Axew could see charmeleon's tail even if its dimmed in smoke and if trying to stay at a range axew would keep firing dragon rages and keep getting close so he decided to go all in for close infighting.
Blue's eyes flashed. "You want close? Fine. Let's see who's tougher. Charmeleon, Rage and Metal Claw together! Go nuts!"
Charmeleon's eyes turned a bloodshot red as the Rage took hold, its physical power spiking as it abandoned all defense. It sprinted toward Axew, claws gleaming.
"Axew, Strength into Dual Chop! Everything you've got!"
The two Pokémon met in the center of the clearing. It was a flurry of brutal, high-speed strikes. Charmeleon was faster, its metal claws leaving deep gashes on Axew's arms, but each time it hit, Axew's made him hit back harder , the rage was making charmeleon stronger but axew was used to close range fighting more than charmeleon.
The finale was a blur. Axew took a direct Metal Claw to the shoulder but didn't flinch. He used the momentum to swing his entire body, his tusks glowing with a terrifying intensity. He landed a Dual Chop infused with Strength squarely on Charmeleon's chest at the exact moment Charmeleon unleashed a point-blank Flamethrower into Axew's face.
The explosion of energy knocked both Pokémon back. Smoke cleared.
Axew was standing, his face blackened and his breath coming in ragged gasps, but he remained upright. Charmeleon lay on its back, its eyes swirled in unconsciousness, its tail flame flickering low.
Blue stared at the fallen lizard for a long moment, his silence deafening. Then, he clicked the Pokéball and recalled him.
"One-zero, Grey," Blue said, his voice now devoid of the condescending smirk. It was replaced by something much more dangerous. "That Axew is a monster. But I've got 2 more pokemon left, and I'm only just getting started."
Author's Note: This Blue is closer to the manga and is not gary , there is no seperate gary its only blue with a bit of gary's personality mixed in him , also keep a note blue only knows of 3 trainers yet as squirtle is taken by a certain thief who also is supposed to be a pallet trainer, will upload the second half soon I just need to edit it, comment your reactions to the chapter .
Also I have to warn the readers in advance there might be a charmander line overload in this fic for some while as a couple trainers have that line now including our mc in the future.