TEEN: Flames of a Revolutionary (Chapter 12: Fierce Gale)

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Hello folks, and welcome to my fic, Flames of a Revolutionary, a story about a journey, conspiracies and how a few individuals fights to make a difference. This is, in a sense, a reboot of my first, now discontinued, fic with new plot and characters, though some characters from the old fic appears as well here. I hope you'll enjoy this fic.

It has been rated teen due to violence and swearing. You have been warned.

Table of Content:

Spoiler

Chapter 1: Voices (look below)
Chapter 2: Farewells and new beginnings
Chapter 3: Equality, Part 1
Chapter 4: Equality, Part 2
Chapter 5: The forest, the amigo and the girl
Chapter 6: Team Rocket
Chapter 7: Reunited
Chapter 8: Challenging the Gym, Part 1
Chapter 9: Challenging the gym, Part 2: The training
Chapter 10: Challenging the Gym, Part 3: the rematch
Chapter 11: Arachnid
Chapter 12: Fierce Gale

Table of Content for Side Stories

Spoiler

Flames of a Revolutionary - A Maiden's Decision

Awards:

Spoiler

Chapter 1: Voices

In a forest where the sunlight barely reached the ground, Pokémon of all kinds relaxed and minded their daily lives in peace and quiet. Butterfrees were gathering nectar from flowers, Rattatas were searching for edible nuts on the ground and a couple of Pidgies were resting on a branch, watching over the area with their eyes half-closed.

Yet, that peace was disrupted by a young girl who was running from two pursuers, both in black clothing, each with a large, red "R" on their torso. The girl was carrying some sort of cylinder made of glass with some sort of purple liquid and was frantically trying to run as fast as possible from her pursuers, who where accompanied by a Pokémon named Arbok, a serpentine Pokémon with purple scales covering its body . It had spread its ribs near its head spread apart, creating a "hood" and revealing an angry face with red and yellow eyes and a black mouth.

"Stop! Get back here!"

"Don't let her get away with Experiment D!"

She didn't stop as ordered, because she knew if they got their hands on this "project D", the entire region, if not the world, would be in peril. But the problem was, other than running away, she couldn't fight them. After all, they had taken her Pokémon and…

Now was not the time to think of that horrible moment, she had to focus on running away. After running for what felt like hours, she decided to dare and take a look behind her to see if they were still following her. To her shock and surprise, the Arbok wasn't among them anymore. Before she even realized it, the cobra Pokémon emerged below her from the ground and threw her into the air. She lost her grip in the cylinder, which was caught by one of the persons in black, while the girl landed on ground and was quickly wrapped by the Arbok, preventing her escape.

"You certainly were a pain in the ass, little lady", said one of two men as he slowed down, "however, the game's up."

"What should we do about her?", the other man asked while panting.

"The boss still has some use of her. After all, she's special", he stated, "but, we better find something to keep her from escaping again. If someone finds out what we're doing, we're screwed."

This is it. There was nothing the girl could do anymore. She was to be imprisoned again but worse, they would once again get their hands on the experiment. As the Arbok followed the two men in black while having its body tightly wrapped around her, she knew there was only one thing she could do, but she would need help from someone after she had done that. Knowing it was a risky bet, she began to concentrate with all her might.

***

It was sunny day on Knot Island, with barely any clouds in the sky and minimal amounts of wind. To the north was Mt. Ember, a semi-active volcano and one of the most recognizable sights around the Sevii Islands, which could be seen as far away as Quest Island, the southernmost island of the archipelago. Thanks to the Moltress that was living on top of it, the volcano had remained quiet for many years.

The ocean waves washed into the shores of the island in a rhythmic fashion, the leaves from the nearby forest rustled in the wind and far away from the island, Roger could see from the shore with his yellow eyes some boats and aquatic Pokémon gathering at an area in the distance, most likely fishing. He didn't mind not joining them since he couldn't swim, nor was he dressed for it.

At the moment, he was wearing a white fedora that was covering his messy, silver hair, as well as protecting his head from the sun, a light, red t-shirt with a Great Ball-logo in the middle, a pair of blue jeans and some sandals, exposing his toes. All in all, he was dressed for the hot, summer weather.

Summer holidays had just begun for Roger and many others, yet he found himself dreadfully bored already. Before the summer holidays, he always had something to do like homework, talking with classmates or any other activities. Now, however, he wasn't sure what he could do to kill time.

"There you are, Roger! I've been looking for you all over the place!", a familiar voiced caused Roger to turn around and saw a red-haired girl with a heart-shaped face and blue eyes running towards him. Her shoulder length, red hair was tied into two pigtails and bounced as she ran. She was wearing a bright, yellow t-shirt with a red heart on the left side of the chest, blue jeans and a pair of red sneakers.

"Hey there, Rose", Roger greeted her while giving her the chance to catch her breath, "Is something the matter?"

"Tommy is back home now from the Indigo Plateau, Roger, so I thought you might want to see him", said Rose while catching her breath.

This raised Roger's mood so much that he smiled. It had been a week since his older brother Tommy was last at home before he left for the Indigo Plateau for business-related work. Since then, the house had been rather empty since he also took with him all of his Pokémon just in case.

"Best news of the day, Rose! Can't wait to see him. Thanks for telling me that!" said Roger with a smile before he started walking towards the town, only to be stopped by Rose herself.

"Now now, don't you remember something you promised yesterday?", she asked him in a playful manner.

Oh right… Collecting seashells for Marine Day", Roger remembered, but was somewhat dismayed that he wouldn't see his brother yet.

Nevertheless, he had promised Rose helping collecting seashells for Marine Day, an annual event which would be held in a few days to celebrate an excellent fishing season around the Sevii Islands archipelago, which the seashells were to be used as decoration. Though he couldn't help but think that she wanted to be alone with him for some reason, since she usually never asked for help for something like that.

***

"So, what are your plans for summer break?", Rose asked while collecting some seashells.

"I honestly don't know, Rose", stated Roger while looking around for shells, "It's a bit difficult going on a holiday or something similar when you have a relative constantly busy with the Pokémon League. Then again, he has some privileges no one else has, so maybe he can pull out something."

"I guess you can consider yourself lucky having a brother working directly with the Pokémon League", said Rose, "but I don't really envy you, since I never had any interest in Pokémon battles, or anything similar. I'm more interested in music, but you already know that."

What Rose said was true. She never had any interest with Pokémon altogether, despite living on Quest Island where the Trainer Tower, a tower meant for Pokémon trainers to train their Pokémon, was located, including the fact her father worked there. It did annoy Roger at times, though, having conflicted interests with each other since it would get difficult to talk about them.

"Anyway, back to our summer holiday. What are you going to do, Rose?", Roger asked her while collecting some more seashells.

"My parents and I are planning for a trip to Hoenn for sightseeing for a few weeks", she said, "we'll take the ship to Slateport City from Vermillion City and from there, drive around the region wherever we would love to go to."

"I guess we won't be seeing each other again for some time then", Roger pointed out.

"No we won't…", said Rose in a sad tone, which Roger couldn't help but notice as he stopped collecting seashells. Rose as well had stopped collecting them.

"Is something wrong?", he asked in worry, but Rose remaining quiet for several seconds before she answered.

"My parents are discussing about moving to Hoenn due to dad's work. "The Sevii Islands are simply too small for his line of work", they say…"

"He works at the Trainer Tower, right? Why would he get another job on another region?", Roger asked carefully.

"The thing is, the tower isn't as popular anymore and is due to close soon", Rose paused for a moment, "and since a new facility has been announced in Hoenn meant for Pokémon battles, mom and dad are considering moving to the region."

Rose didn't need to say anything more to Roger as he understood how things stood for her. Most likely, the "vacation" in Hoenn is actually an excuse to try and find a place to live for Rose's parents. And if they were to move away from the Sevii Islands, they would most likely never see each other again. Roger couldn't help but feel sorry for her. They had known each other for a long time and he had always seen her as a sister he never had. Just thinking about her moving away made him sad.

"Rose, I…"

I'm going to die…

Roger froze on the spot the moment he heard the voice. He wasn't certain, but it sounded like someone was in need of help. He placed the seashells he had picked up back down to the sand and looked around to find the source.

"What's wrong, Roger?", asked Rose when she saw Roger looking around.

"Just now, I heard a voice", said Roger while still looking around.

"A voice? I didn't hear anything, Roger", stated Rose, but Roger was certain he wasn't imagining things.

"Who are you?! Who called for help?!", shouted Roger to be completely sure. To his surprise, he got a respond.

You… you can hear me?, the weak voice sounded a little surprised.

"Yeah, but who are you? Where are you?!", Roger shouted once more, hoping to gain some answers, while Rose looked perplexed from what she perceived as a weird behavior from Roger.

Why bother asking?, the voice said in a sad tone,I'm going to die, anyway. And here I had hoped I could become the best…

Roger couldn't help but feel sorry for whoever owned that voice and wished he could do something. He was, however, interrupted in his thoughts by Rose, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Roger, are you alright? Are you certain you're not imagining things?", she asked with worry.

But before Roger could give her an answer, the ground started to shake violently, so much that the both of them collapsed to the sand, unable to maintain their balance.

"Wh-wh-what in the?!", a surprised Roger stuttered before seeing Mt. Ember to the north erupting lava from the top. Both him and Rose looked in shock and awe at the mountain since it had never happened before in their lifetime. But then a thought hit him: What had happened to Moltress since there was such a violent eruption? Wasn't Moltress supposed to keep the volcano from erupting?

Jump to the left!, the voice suddenly shouted, causing Roger to return to his senses. He saw just in time a volcanic rock flying towards them and took Rose into his arms and jumped to the left, just as he was instructed. They managed to evade the rock before it impacted the sand with a large, deafening roar.

Adrenaline coursed through Roger like no tomorrow and most likely for Rose as well, who was almost in complete shock. Both he and Rose had just evaded certain death, thanks to the mysterious voice.

"Oh my God, that was close!", Rose managed to say in her shock.

"Y-yeah…", Roger panted as the adrenaline began leaving his body and likewise, the shakings and the volcano calmed down at the same time.

Lucky for you, huh? At least you'll be alright..., the voice said in a relieved tone, no doubt happy that it had saved the two.

This time, Roger could hear where the voice came from and saw something red behind some trees. He stood up and started running towards the forest with Rose close behind.

"Roger, where are you going?!", Rose shouted while trying to keep up with Roger.

"I know where the voice is coming from, Rose! I need to find whoever it is now!", said Roger while running, "That same voice saved our lives just now!"

Before long, Roger found what he searched for; the owner of the voice was a badly wounded Charmeleon lying on its cream-colored stomach. Multiple wounds and blood covered its reptilian body, turning its already crimson scales more crimson. The area around one of its eyes were swollen and the horn-like protrusion on the back of its head had multiple scars. What was really worrying was that its flame on the tip of its tail was abnormally smaller than normal. If it died out, it would certain death for the Charmeleon, as its life force were connected to it.

Roger's face got pale and he was shocked by the condition the Pokémon was in, so much that he hardly moved for a few seconds. He eventually regained his composure and walked carefully closer to the injured Charmeleon. He eventually got close enough that he could kneel down next to it.

"Roger, what's happening? Why did you run over- Oh my…", Rose held her hands at her mouth the moment she saw the injured Charmeleon, her face likewise turning pale from the mere sight.

"Rose, he's the one who helped us earlier", said Roger in a shaken, yet composed tone, "but if we don't help him now, he won't make it…"

"You… You're the guy from before…", the Charmeleon finally registered Roger's presense, "but it's too late now… I'm at my limit already…"

"Don't say it like that", Roger attempted assure the flame Pokémon, "We'll get to the Pokémon Center and get you fixed up in no time, alright?"

"Roger, can you really understand what it says?", asked Rose with a shaken voice.

"I don't know why I can understand him, but I cannot ignore him in times of need, not after he saved our lives", stated Roger with resolve in his voice.

"Those words of yours brings tears to my eyes… you damn, soft-hearted fool...", remarked the Charmeleon with some sarcasm.

"That goes for you too, you know", said Roger and couldn't help but smile a little, "even while you're close to dying, you took your time to help us."

"Birds of a feather, huh…", the Charmeleon chuckled a little while making a small smile.

Feeling that he had helped giving the Charmeleon some hope, Roger took off his fedora, then his t-shirt and placed his fedora back on his head. He was planning to use his t-shirt to stop the bleeding while carrying the Charmeleon to the Pokémon Center.

"Rose, can you help me carry him to the Pokémon Center?", he asked her, but he could see that she was still shaken from had happened so far. "Rose!"

She finally snapped out of her shock and walked slowly towards Roger and the Charmeleon. But she stopped a few steps away and seemed to be looking at something behind Roger and the Charmeleon. Roger turned around his head and saw a bald man wearing a pair of sunglasses and a black suit.

Next to him was two Pokémon, one of them being a Magneton, which had three, circular, metal bodies connected to each other in a triangular form, each of them having horseshoe magnets on each side, which constantly emitted electricity. It had an eye in the middle of each body and a pair of screws on each as well, with the top one having an extra, larger one on top of its body. The other Pokémon hovering next to them was a Gengar with purple fur covering its roundish body. It had semi-short arms and legs, a tail and spiky-furred back, red eyes and a constant, sinister grin on its face, which somewhat frightened Roger.

"Many thanks for finding our wayward Pokémon, children", said the man yet seemed to ignore Charmeleon's condition, "We'll take care of the Charmeleon from here."

"Wait, is the Charmeleon your Pokémon, sir?", Rose asked nervously.

"Correct, he's mine, though he must've been hurt by a wild Pokémon living around here while I didn't watch him. But don't worry, he's in good hands", said the man while adjusting his sunglasses.

Almost as soon he had finished his sentence, the Gengar's grin became wider and the Magneton began to expel more electricity from its body and Roger didn't liked it. It was almost as if…

"They… are the ones… who this to me…", the Charmeleon fought to say, confirming Roger's fears.

He got eye contact with Rose and she seemed to have understood the situation. Roger then wrapped his t-shirt around Charmeleon and carefully picked him up with both arms.

"You're the one who injured him this badly, right?", he asked warily.

"What are you talking about, kid? I would never think to do that", the man explained with a seemly innocent expression.

"Then why weren't you surprised by Charmeleon's condition? And what's with your Pokémon becoming excited when you said he was "good hands"?", Roger pointed out the flaws of the bluff, which changed the man's expression considerably from innocent to more serious, "Also, no Pokémon living on this island could inflict these kinds of injuries!"

"Tch, since you want to play the hard way, so be it", stated the man, followed by the Magneton and Gengar charging towards Roger, Rose and Charmeleon.

"Time to run, Rose!", said Roger and started running towards the beach while carrying Charmeleon with both arms, quickly followed by Rose.

"Where the heck should we run to anyway, Roger?!", said Rose while running.

"The village is our best bet!", stated Roger, "If Tommy is still there, then he can help us!"

However, they didn't make it far before Roger could hear Rose screaming. He looked behind and saw Rose being pinned down to the sand by Gengar, before being tackled from behind by the Magneton. He fell down to the sand and the Charmeleon rolled several meters away from him, loosing the now bloodied t-shirt in the meantime.

"Why do kids have to do so much trouble before we all achieve a respectable result?", asked the man in black not far behind in a mocking tone, "Maybe I ought to teach you brats a lesson once we're finished with that oversized lizard."

Roger despaired as there was nothing they could do now for the Charmeleon. Roger cursed his inability to help the Charmeleon, himself and Rose. And who knew what the man could think of doing with them. When Roger thought that the man is responsible for the Charmeleon's near-fatal injuries, he concluded that it wouldn't be pleasant at all.

There must be something he could do to help them out of this situation, but how? Unexpectedly, and to his surprise , the help came from a voice, this time not from Charmeleon, but from something else.

Young boy, do you wish to save the life of that fiery soul?, the voice asked in a deep, majestic voice.

Time almost stood in a standstill when Roger heard that voice, a voice so mighty yet respectful, that anything felt possible just from hearing it. While it was the first time he ever heard that voice, he could somehow sense that he could trust it.

"Yeah, I wish help to him", Roger answered almost without hesitation. Likewise, the voice didn't take long before it spoke once again.

Use my feather attached to the molten rock near you to help the fiery soul.

Roger had nearly forgotten about the rock that nearly killed him and Rose. He looked at it and saw reddish feather just barely attached to the rock. While he was surprised that it didn't get burned to ashes from being attached to the molten rock, Roger didn't give it a second thought and stood up and ran over to grab it.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing, kid?", the man asked Roger, but he ignored him and carefully picked up the feather when he approached it. The Magneton and Gengar didn't move but merely kept an eye on Roger, ready to jump on him at a moment's notice.

The feather felt warm to touch and also rejuvenating. Any fatigue Roger had before, even the pain in the bag from being tackled by Magneton, was gone. Understanding what the feather could do to the Charmeleon, Roger ran over to the lizard as fast as possible.

"So you're going to try and run away again with that poor excuse of a lizard? Gengar, blast them with Shadow Ball!", shouted the man, with the Gengar doing as commanded, jumping up from Rose's back while Magneton kept guard over her. It created a dark, shadowy orb between its hand before throwing it towards Roger and Charmeleon.

"Roger, look out!", Roger just managed to hear Rose shouting before jumping towards Charmeleon and just barely touched him with the feather. With his very own eyes, he saw its wounds closing, the blood disappearing and the swollen eye returning to normal size, even the scars on its horn began disappearing. Likewise, Charmeleon's flame began getting larger.

Just then, before he could marvel at the miracle, Roger could hear something approaching and saw the Shadow Ball approaching him and Charmeleon. But before it could hit them both, a barrier appeared out of nowhere and blocked the attack just in time. As the Shadow Ball dispersed, so did the barrier that saved the two of them.

"Wow, I never felt so rejuvenating in my entire life!", a familiar voice appeared behind Roger, who looked and saw that Charmeleon was now standing on his legs, completely refreshed, "I can feel the power surging through me!"

"Good to see that you've recovered, Charmeleon", Roger chuckled in joy.

"Yeah, all thanks to you and that feather", said the Charmeleon with a smile while walking towards the man and his Gengar and Magneton, who were shocked to see him back at full health, "Now then, I think I should repay you for helping me ."

With that, the Charmeleon charged ahead and punched the Magneton out of the way, freeing Rose who immediately ran over to Roger for safety.

"Wh-what happened, Roger?! All of a sudden, that Charmeleon seems completely refreshed!", asked Rose in confusion.

"I'm honestly not certain, Rose", said Roger with a smile, "but I do know that we can make out of this mess."

"I don't know how you managed to recover so quickly, you crappy lizard, but things will just repeat itself again!" proclaimed the man while his Magneton recovered from the punch and hovered next to him.

"Circumstances back then and now are different, so expect some ass-kicking as payback!", said the Charmeleon while cracking his claws, even though the man most likely didn't understood him. He then once again started running towards his two opponent with both claws ignited with fire.

"Kill him already!" shouted the man in desperation, with his two Pokémon starting to charge towards the Charmeleon.

But the Charmeleon proved to be faster than the two, punching both of them at the same time and sending them flying back to their master, who collapsed from the impact. But before Roger, Rose and the Charmeleon could celebrate, the man pushed his two unconscious Pokémon aside and took out several Pokéballs from his pocket. He threw them into the air, releasing multiple Magnetons from them.

"Destroy that lizard!", the man shouted in anger.

The Magnetons didn't waste any seconds and charged towards the Charmeleon with electricity emitting from their bodies. The flame Pokémon now faced trouble for the first time, as he struggled to fend them all off by breathing fire against them, punching them away with his claws or swinging his strong tail against them. One by one, however, they eventually fell to the sand like dead flies from Charmeleon's constant fire attacks. He then turned to face the man in black, who looked frightened by the situation.

"You're next, you-", said the Charmeleon before suddenly, black lightning appeared from the sand, shocking him violently and causing him to scream in pain. When the attack finally stopped, the Charmeleon fell to his knees and could no longer stand up. The Gengar then appeared behind him from the sand, having hidden itself below it by making itself transparent.

"Damn you… You hid yourself while I wasn't looking…", the Charmeleon struggled to say.

"Damn it, he hasn't fully recovered from his injuries yet!", Roger cursed in frustration, having realized that the attack injured the Charmeleon more than it should. Not thinking clearly, Roger started standing up, but was quickly stopped by Rose, who knew exactly was he was going to do.

"Don't even think about it. You can get yourself killed!", said Rose in a worried tone.

"But so can he if I don't do something!", Roger argued.

"You don't need to anything, Roger. We'll take care of things from here on out", Roger heard a familiar voice saying, followed by a geyser of sand appearing behind the Charmeleon, separating the two Pokémon and preventing the Gengar from further attacking its target.

Roger turned around and saw his much taller, older brother standing there with a serious face, which was a rarity for Roger. Tommy's light blue hair were messy and spiky, similar to Roger's hair, but went down to his shoulder and was tied into a ponytail. And just like Roger, he too also had yellow eyes. His clothing were nothing unusual, a white polo shirt with an open, black west covering it, a pair of jeans and black shoes, the only thing standing out was a yellow sash around his waist.

"Look, it's König!", Rose exclaimed and sure enough, Roger turned around and saw Tommy's Nidoking, better known as König, appearing where the sand geyser once were. His massive muscles were impressive as always and its purple, plate-like skin and gray chest and abdomen barely had any marks from battles, a testament of König's defensive capabilities. Extremely large spines grew down from his back, ending where his impressively large tail began. His feet had each a single, hoof-like toe and three claws on each arm. König's most impressive feature was his massive, poisonous horn on top of its head, that almost for certain could penetrate anything.

"Well, as much as I hate it, I'll leave the rest to you, pal", the Charmeleon addressed to König and sounded unsatisfied that he wouldn't get his revenge. But nevertheless, he was exhausted and needed some rest.

"We're going to finish this in one blow, König, so prep yourself!", Tommy shouted, followed by König's roar of acknowledgement.

"Tch, more and more are coming to annoy the hell out of me, you really think your Pokémon can make a difference against my Gengar?!", the man in black mocked Tommy, losing his patience from all of the unexpected events he had so far, "Destroy him with Night Shade!"

Gengar released the same black lightning which badly harmed Charmeleon before upon König, who didn't look impressed by the attack. In fact, the moment he got hit by it, he didn't even flinch by the attack, shocking the man and his Gengar.

"You're well below my league, so do not underestimate us!", exclaimed Tommy before throwing his arm forward, "Finish off Gengar with Hidden Power!"

Several small, glowing orbs appeared around König and started circling around him, before flying towards the Gengar, each of them exploding upon impact. When the last orb had hit Gengar, it fell down and into unconsciousness, much to the shock and horror of the man in black.

"Shit, I wasn't paid for this amount of trouble!", exclaimed the man before running away from the scene, only to come face to face with the Charmeleon.

"Don't even bother trying to run, you coward!", said the Charmeleon in disgust, before jumping to the man's height and punching the living daylight out of him in a single blow and causing him to collapse to the sand.

***

Around thirty minutes later, the man in black had been tied up with a rope and his Pokémon had been put into cages to prevent them from escaping. The police, who had arrived from one of the nearby islands, were getting ready to take them onboard their boat and sail to the mainland.

"Talk about a crazy day", Roger sighed. He sat on a rock next to Rose and the Charmeleon while watching Tommy talking with a policeman about what had happened. Roger was still holding in his hand the fiery red feather that had saved Charmeleon's life.

"It sure has been one, but at least it's over", remarked Rose with relief.

"Yeah, it is", the Charmeleon agreed, who looked equally relived as the humans sitting next to him, ignoring that Rose didn't understand him.

Before long, Tommy finished talking with the policeman and walked over to the group, "Roger, you were very reckless today. You could've easily gotten yourself injured."

Roger looked down in shame, he never liked being scolded by his brother or mother, and Tommy was also right. He had been reckless.

"However, what you did was also very brave, and I'm proud of you for that", said Tommy with a smile, which instantly brightened up Roger's mood, "just don't tell mom about it, ok? I hate for us to face her wrath."

"That we can agree on, Tommy", Roger laughed along with Tommy and Charmeleon, before being interrupted by Rose.

"What about my parents? How am I going to explain what has happened?"

"We'll think of something, Rose", Tommy assured her before picking up Roger's bloodied t-shirt, "after all, we need to give them all some sort of explanation, since Charmeleon's blood is on your t-shirt, Roger."

"You certainly need to."

Roger's blood froze the moment he heard his mother's voice, and Tommy and Rose also looked rather pale. All three of them turned their heads towards her and saw how angry she was.

"We're in deep trouble, bro…", Tommy managed to say with clenched teeth.

Y-yeah, we really are…", Roger likewise managed to say, also with clenched teeth.

 

[some colour no doubt]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary

just minor stuff first:

Spoiler

Pokémon of all kinds relaxed minded their daily lives in peace and quiet

I think something is missing from this sentence? Probably a comma or an "and"

Also, no Pokémon living on this island could do this kind of injuries!"

Maybe the phrase "inflict this kind of injuries" would flow a little better

Don't even think about it. You can get yourself killed!", said Rose in a strict, yet worried tone

i think just saying a worried tone her would suffice, as in this situation i don't think Rose would be sounding "strict"

The police, who had arrived from one of the nearby island

"islands"

There were a few other minor grammar mistakes as well, but nothing major.

Also, it might be an idea for a way to differentiate the Charmeleon's speech from the rest of the peoples? As it is only Roger who can hear him, it might be better if you had it in italics as you did at the beginning of the chapter, as i often had to re-read a section as it blended in with the speech of the primary (human) characters.

A good start! Your characters are good and your description paints good pictures of them. You really did a good job of making the "bad guy" seem like a bad guy, and the choice of pokémon that you used fit his character well, especially the Gengar. You also did pretty good in showing the friendship between Rose and Roger, and how he felt upon hearing that she would be leaving.

I can't wait to see how this goes, and yay for Charmeleon! Everyone know's that pokémon is badass!

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary

just minor stuff first:

Spoiler

Pokémon of all kinds relaxed minded their daily lives in peace and quiet

I think something is missing from this sentence? Probably a comma or an "and"

Also, no Pokémon living on this island could do this kind of injuries!"

Maybe the phrase "inflict this kind of injuries" would flow a little better

Don't even think about it. You can get yourself killed!", said Rose in a strict, yet worried tone

i think just saying a worried tone her would suffice, as in this situation i don't think Rose would be sounding "strict"

The police, who had arrived from one of the nearby island

"islands"

There were a few other minor grammar mistakes as well, but nothing major.

Also, it might be an idea for a way to differentiate the Charmeleon's speech from the rest of the peoples? As it is only Roger who can hear him, it might be better if you had it in italics as you did at the beginning of the chapter, as i often had to re-read a section as it blended in with the speech of the primary (human) characters.

Thanks for pointing out these errors I made, I'll go and correct them shortly. Also, I'll consider how to differentiate Charmeleon's speech from the rests of the human characters, possibly with the italics as you mentioned. This is very good feedback, so many thanks for that

A good start! Your characters are good and your description paints good pictures of them. You really did a good job of making the "bad guy" seem like a bad guy, and the choice of pokémon that you used fit his character well, especially the Gengar. You also did pretty good in showing the friendship between Rose and Roger, and how he felt upon hearing that she would be leaving.

Thank you, @some colour no doubt;. I was worried about the bad guy if he was good enough to begin, so I'm happy that you liked him. It was also important for me to show Roger's and Rose's friendship since it will play a role in future chapters.

I can't wait to see how this goes, and yay for Charmeleon! Everyone know's that pokémon is badass!

Things will definitely take an interesting turn of events in the next chapter. You're also going to see some development for Charmeleon soon enough.

EDIT: I've now corrected the errors, once again thank you for pointing them out.

 

[Flaze]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary

I liked the first chapter, even if it seemed pretty standard in a way but it was a great way to introduce the characters. Roger seems like a pretty good protagonist but his ability to understand Charmeleon was kind of sudden so be careful of not taking too much advantage of that and I trust you have a very good reason as to how he's able to do it.

I think you need to work a little more on your description, there were a lot of points in the fic where it seemed like you were listing events rather than describing them. Of course listing isn't always bad but you have to remember to add as much description as you can for it, the character's feelings their surroundings or what they're thinking, you can even add more detail to what they're doing.

It still seems like a good start and I'm interested in what comes next so mention me when the next chapter comes out

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary

I liked the first chapter, even if it seemed pretty standard in a way but it was a great way to introduce the characters. Roger seems like a pretty good protagonist but his ability to understand Charmeleon was kind of sudden so be careful of not taking too much advantage of that and I trust you have a very good reason as to how he's able to do it.

Roger's ability to understand Charmeleon will be explained during the story. In fact, a part of its possible origin will be explained in the next chapter.

I think you need to work a little more on your description, there were a lot of points in the fic where it seemed like you were listing events rather than describing them. Of course listing isn't always bad but you have to remember to add as much description as you can for it, the character's feelings their surroundings or what they're thinking, you can even add more detail to what they're doing.

I'll keep that in mind when I write in the future, I can definitely improve my description of things. Many thanks for pointing that out.

It still seems like a good start and I'm interested in what comes next so mention me when the next chapter comes out

I've added you to my list then, Flaze

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary

@some colour no doubt;, @Flaze;

Before you begin reading the second chapter, I'll like to tell you readers something. Based on some colour no doubt's review, I've now changed the appearance of Charmeleon's dialogs from now on to better differentiate between him and other human characters when they talk. Here's an example:

Spoiler

"The Charmeleon's dialogs will look like this, with these "" surrounding it."

As for when the characters are thinking, it will look like this:

Without the "" of course

Now that is out of the way, I hope you'll enjoy reading the chapter.

Chapter 2: Farewells and new beginnings

"What incompetent, foolhardy, reckless idiots you two are!", a voice could be heard shouting inside the Pokémon Center, belonging to Vivian Harley, Roger's and Tommy's mother.

While she was smaller than Tommy and only slightly taller than Roger, who was now wearing a black t-shirt his mother got for him, it wasn't a problem for her to look like an angry sabre-tooth tiger in their eyes and cause Tommy to try and become smaller than her whenever she was angry.

Her blue hair that went down to her neck looked almost ready to ignite into fire from her anger and her brown eyes pierced through the two brothers like daggers. While any other person wouldn't think that a woman in the middle of her thirties wearing a red shirt with white, horizontal stripes, beige trousers and brown shoes could be intimidating, Roger and Tommy knew her far too well.

"Mom, please don't shout so loud. It's embarrassing...", Tommy attempted to calm her down.

"If you're embarrassed now, then you have only seen the tip of the iceberg!", Vivian angrily responded, causing Tommy to cringe, "Especially after that stunt you and Tommy went through, Roger!"

Roger and Tommy were forced to tell their mother about the man who had attacked the Charmeleon and later Roger and Rose, who was more than angry on all three of them for getting involved into something dangerous, especially at Roger and Rose. Rose, meanwhile, had been sent home by Vivian after she contacted her parents with an explanation of the situation. Whatever Rose was going through, Roger hoped it wasn't too serious, though he thought that she at least was in a better position than him and Tommy.

"Hey, can you quiet down a little bit, Ms. Harley?", a doctor appeared from the clinic, "We have a patient here in the clinic, so please quiet down."

"Ah, I'm sorry, doctor. It won't happen again", said Vivian somewhat embarrassed, having finally calmed down. But as the doctor left them, Roger feared it wouldn't be long before her anger ignited again.

"What's with all that ruckus going on over there?", Roger recognized the voice and saw an old man approaching them. He was partially bald, with the remaining hair being white and his face had a lot of wrinkles. He was also wearing a pair of round glasses to see better. He was wearing a blue polo shirt, brown trousers, a pair of black sandals and he used a wooden cane to support himself as he walked.

"Old Harry, what brings you here?", asked Tommy. It was a rarity to see him walking inside the Pokémon Center, so it came as a surprise for Tommy and everyone else.

"I've heard some rumors today about an injured Charmeleon and how he was saved by a red feather", Old Harry said slowly, "so I wanted to see it for myself."

"A feather? Do you mean this one?", asked Roger while picking out from his pocket the feather he used to heal the Charmeleon. If there was one person who might have answers of what had happened today, it would be Old Harry.

"Saved by a red feather?", asked Vivian in confusion, "Is there something you haven't told me about yet, Roger?"

"Yeah… about that… I'm not certain you would believe me if I told you", stated Roger somewhat nervously.

Old Harry seemed to ignore what Roger and Vivian was talking about, and kept looking at the feather with his blue eyes before saying, "Vivian, is it alright I borrow Roger for a little while? I need to talk with him about something."

"I'm not exactly finished talking with Roger, Mr. Harrison", said Vivian.

"Please, it is very important for the young man to know", Old Harry pleaded.

Vivian grew silent as Old Harry looked at her until she finally relented, "Alright, alright. You can have a talk with him then. But you are coming home with me, Tommy, as I need your help with something. Understood?"

"Alright…", answered Tommy somewhat disappointed. Roger understood him though, especially after their mother had scolded them.

Roger watched Tommy and their mother leaving the building before Old Harry beckoned him to sit on a nearby, red couch alongside him. For a few silent minutes, Old Harry was holding the red feather with his hand and observed it from every possible angle. Eventually, he returned the feather back to Roger.

"There's no doubt, this is Moltress' feather you're holding in your hand, Roger", explained Old Harry.

"The same Moltress living on top of Mt. Ember?", asked Roger with surprise in his voice.

"Correct. And I could also see that it had been recently used", Old Harry pointed out, "how's the Charmeleon? I suspect that the feather was used on him, correct?"

"Yes, I used it on him. He was able to recover with the help of that feather, but not completely, unfortunately. That's why he's inside the clinic to be treated", explained Roger.

"His injuries must've been severe for the feather not being able to heal all of his wounds and fatigue completely. I suppose even miracles has its limits", said Old Harry.

Roger suddenly thought back to when he heard Charmeleon's voice, so he decided to ask Old Harry about it, "Say, how come I could hear Charmeleon's voice when he was injured? I could even understand him!"

Old Harry seemed to be in deep thoughts before answering, "There is an old legend from around here that might be related to your sudden ability to understand Charmeleon. If you have the time to listen…"

Roger simply nodded as a response before Old Harry continued, "Long ago, when settlers from the mainland arrived to the isles known today as the Sevii Islands, deaths and diseases was spreading to all islands, unfortunately, affecting both humans and Pokémon. Among the settlers, a young woman had the unfortunate ability to hear their voices both close and far away when humans or Pokémon were near death, yet there was nothing she could do to help."

"She was not a healer, nor did she have any experience in medicine. All she could do was to linger their pain until their inevitable fate happened. Eventually, she had enough of hearing their dying voices and left for the sea in a boat, planning to never return."

"What happened to her afterwards?", asked Roger out of curiosity.

"Details about that are scarce, but they all point to the fact that she eventually arrived to another, lonely island with a large volcano", Old Harry continued, "she explored the island as much as her legs could carry her. Eventually, she only had the volcano left to explore. However, the moment she approached it, she heard the same kind of voice as the ones back on the Sevii Islands. One who was close to dying."

"At first, she hesitated to go and help whoever owned the voice. But when the voice begged her to come and help, she relented and climbed to the top of the volcano, where she found an old and injured Moltress."

The moment Old Harry mentioned Moltress, Roger could almost sense that it was somehow connected to the one living on top of Mt. Ember, but he allowed Old Harry to continue before inquiring about it.

"While the young woman felt sorry about Moltress condition, she explained she didn't know how to heal him as she was not a healer, nor did she know anything about medicine. However, Moltress told her she truly didn't know if she could help as long she didn't try to begin with. Surprised, yet encouraged by Moltress' few word of wisdom, she asked what she could to help. The Moltress asked her to push him down to the lava, where he would be reborn in the molten earth."

"She did as told, and Moltress reappeared a few moments later in all its glory, once again young and rejuvenated. In gratitude, Moltress asked for what he could do in return. The woman, now believing that she could do something to help her fellow settlers, explained her tale of her home islands, about how humans and Pokémon fell to diseases currently plaguing them. The Moltress asked her to take a feather from him and then offered her to fly her back home, where he would explain what she could do."

"They eventually arrived back to the Sevii Islands, where Moltress would tell the young woman to touch each individual with the feather she had picked from him. Whenever she did that, every human and Pokémon would return back to full health before eventually, the diseases disappeared altogether and no one died anymore. The young woman was hailed as a hero and Moltress decided to settle down on top of Mt. Ember in eternal gratitude for the young woman's help, which he still does to the very day."

After Old Harry finished telling the story, many thoughts coursed through Roger's mind. If this tale really happened, was he a descendant of the at woman who also could hear someone close to death? But why did she and Roger have that ability? Was there a specific reason for that? And was that ability the very reason Moltress gave him his feather?

"You must have many questions after hearing this legend, Roger", said Old Harry, startling Roger to think that Old Harry had somehow read his thoughts, "however, you don't need to question them constantly. You may never find an answer, but seeking them won't do you any good. If you're meant to learn why you can hear and understand the Charmeleon, then you will someday."

***

An hour had passed after Roger had talked with Old Harry and he was still waiting inside the Pokémon Center for Charmeleon to check out. While waiting, Roger had been thinking about Old Harry's story about Moltress and the woman who could hear Pokémon's and people's dying voices. While Old Harry said that he shouldn't question about his ability, Roger couldn't help but do so. But he was mostly thinking about the Charmeleon currently being treated.

Ever since he met him, he had felt a connection to him, something unique, especially since he could talk and understand him. So he had decided to wait until Charmeleon was checked out, even though it was beginning be late.

"They sure take their time in there", remarked Roger as he looked at the clock on the opposite wall of where the couch was.

Unlike most Pokémon Centers Roger had heard of, this one wasn't very large, only around the size of an average house. Though considering that it was one of the few centers in the Sevii Islands and not many trainers came to the islands in the first place, it didn't seem to be a problem. The room Roger currently was in had a red couch, which he was currently sitting on, a table made of glass which was surround by the couch and some chairs. On some of the walls, there was pictures of various Pokémon, from a small Pikachu, to the enormous Gyarados, many of them having being treated in the center.

Eventually, the door to the clinic opened and the doctor and Charmeleon walked out of it, who now had a couple of bandages around his arms.

"So how did go, doctor?", asked Roger.

"It went very well, Roger. His wounds hasn't completely healed yet, so we covered them with some disinfection and bandages. And since you and Tommy explained that Charmeleon had lost a lot of blood, we decided to give him a blood transfusion just to be certain", explained the doctor.

"Thank you for everything, doctor. Do you think it's alright I take him back home?", asked Roger.

"I don't see any problems with that, Roger, but is he your Pokémon to begin with?", the doctor asked Roger.

The doctor had a point. Technically, Roger wasn't Charmeleon's trainer or owner, and taking him back home could make things complicated. But the Charmeleon didn't seem to mind, as he simply walked over next to Roger and gave him a small wink.

"Well, he doesn't seem to mind, so I guess I won't either", said the doctor before walking back to the clinic, "say hi to your family Roger."

"I will, doctor, and thanks for everything", said Roger as he walked towards the exit alongside the Charmeleon.

"Thanks for helping me out of that predicament, Charmeleon", Roger thanked the Charmeleon while walking out of the Pokémon Center along with him.

"No need to thank me, I'm just returning the favor", stated Charmeleon with a smile, "after all, you saved my life today."

"I'm just happy to help. By the way, do you have a name or something?", asked Roger, "It feels a bit wrong to me to only call you by your species' name."

"My trainer used to call me Don, so I guess that's my name", said the flame Pokémon.

"My name is Roger, nice to meet you", Roger greeted Don, "but wait a minute, you just said you had a trainer?"

"That's right, but that guy from before separated us from each other after she did something whoever hired him didn't like", explained Don, "as for the rest of the story, you already know what happened to me."

"Except the part where you got to Knot Island. Charmeleons aren't exactly common around here", Roger pointed out.

"Ah, that", said Don, "I don't remember much, only that I somehow got onto a boat and ended up here, only to meet that idiot again on this island."

"So what happened to your trainer, Don?", asked Roger.

"I don't know… but I intent to find out someday.", stated Don with resolve in his voice, which Roger couldn't help but admire him for, "but enough doom and gloom, where are we headed anyway?"

"Can you see the lighthouse to the south? That is where I live", Roger said while pointing towards a white, tall lighthouse that was located on a small isle, with a wooden bridge connected to the larger island.

"You live inside that lighthouse?!", Don sounded surprised.

"Not inside, only in a house connected to it", explained Roger wryly, it wasn't the first time someone got surprised about the lighthouse, yet it never got old for him.

As they got closer, they saw a red, two stories tall bungalow with one end of it build around the lowermost part of the lighthouse. While the windows on the house were as white as the lighthouse, the rooftop was, in stark contrast, deep black. And most notably, there weren't any apparent doors on the outside of the house, but that didn't bother Roger at all.

Instead, he walked to the lighthouse's door and opened it while being followed by Don. Inside, they could see a stairway spiraling upwards to the top of the lighthouse. But Roger ignored it and instead walked over to another door on the opposite site of the first one, which was entrance to the house.

"I'm home…", Roger carefully said while he opened the door and entered the hallway, not being certain if his mother had calmed down a bit after her outburst of anger.

"You sure took your time, Roger. Was Mr. Harrison really taking that long to talk with you?", asked his mother before entering the hallway from the kitchen and sighed when she saw Don next to Roger, "I should've figured as much that you took with you that Charmeleon."

"Is… is it alright he stays here for a time, mom?", Roger asked carefully, "Other than the Pokémon Center, he doesn't have anywhere else to sleep."

"Fine, I made an extra batch of Pokémon food anyway", said Vivian before returning to the kitchen, followed by Roger and Don.

The kitchen had what most people would imagine in a kitchen, a long table at the white wall, with cabinets built into them and there were also a stove, sink and a refrigerator that were all made of stainless steel. Above the table and the stove were some windows, which had a view of the ocean and a barely visible Quest Island to the south.

The moment Roger entered the kitchen, a pleasant smell pleased his nose and almost made drool in anticipation. There was no doubt about it, it was spaghetti with tomato sauce his mother was cooking. But when he took another inhale of the smell covering the kitchen, Roger noticed that the sauce smelled spicier than usual. He dreaded for a moment that it may be his mother's way of punishing him and Tommy.

"If you don't mind Don, I'll head upstairs to see if Rose has contacted my over the Internet. It will only take a moment", said Roger while shaking of that feeling.

"Fine by me, Roger. I'll just stay down here in the kitchen in the meantime. That meal your mom is cooking smells great anyway", said Don wryly while drooling a little bit.

Roger couldn't help but chuckle a little bit before walking up the stairs to the upper floor and entering his room just to the right of the stairs. The walls were decorated with poster of various, famous Pokémon trainers, some featuring the Elite Four and other famous Pokémon trainers. Notably, some of them featured Roger's older brother, Tommy.

Below the window, which faced the ocean to the south, was a simple, wooden bed and next to it was a dresser with his clothes inside. At the wall to the left was a medium-sized High Definition television standing on a black TV-table, with a DVD player on one of the shelves. On the opposite wall was a desk with a laptop on of it and an office chair. Last and by no means least, in the middle of the wooden floor was a bean bag chair modeled after a Snorlax, big enough for three adults to sit on it without a problem.

Roger sat on his chair at the desk and immediately turned on his laptop. He was keen hear from Rose how things turned out for her after being sent back home. He remembered that she was understandably not happy for being sent home by his mother, but she was in no mood for discussions with Rose. He opened his email account and saw to his relief that Rose indeed had sent him a mail. When he opened it, he could hardly believe what he was reading.

I'm sorry, Roger. I've been scolded by my dad and I'm not allowed to see you again after what had happened, even though it wasn't your fault to begin with. Mom is trying to reason with him, but I'm afraid that she cannot change his mind. So I guess this is goodbye then, even though it was a little earlier than expected, nor had I hoped it would end like this… Farewell, Roger. I won't forget our happy times as friends.

Love, Rose.

Roger was in utter shock and speechless from what Rose had written. Rose's father, Mr. Anderson, had forbidden his own daughter to talk with Roger ever again after the incident earlier today, and he was possibly beyond reasoning. Roger knew they may had to say goodbye because they might had to move, but he had never thought it would end up like this.

Up until now, he had thought his mother's wrath was the worst that could have happened today. As tears silently rolled down on his cheeks, he realized just how wrong he was on that point.

"Ah, there you are, Roger. I heard from mom that you got home", Roger heard Tommy saying while entering his room, but he became silent for a moment when Roger didn't answer, "what's wrong, Roger?"

When his younger brother didn't answer that either, Tommy walked over to Roger and saw the mail Rose had sent to his younger brother. He was speechless for a moment until he said, "What the hell… Roger, I'll go and talk with mom about this. You and Rose shouldn't be punished for something this stupid!"

"Wait, Tommy! If her parents finds out she has contacted me, she'll be in trouble!", Roger finally reacted. He quickly wiped away his tears, stood up from his chair and followed Tommy back down to the kitchen in an attempt to stop him.


"I know that, but I can't stand having this happening in front of me!", stated Tommy in anger as he entered the kitchen, "Mom, you need to hear something. Roger just got a-"

Tommy was silenced by his mother who gestured with a flat hand, telling him not to interrupt her. She was talking on the phone with someone and had a serious expression on her face. She eventually put down the phone and faced Roger and Tommy.

"It was about Rose you wanted to talk with about, right?", she asked in sadness. Likewise, Don looked just as sad, making it clear that he knew what this is about.

"Was it… one of Rose's parents?" Roger asked while fearing the worst.

"Yes, Roger, it was Rose's mother I just talked with, and she explained that Rose isn't allowed to see you again by her father", explained Roger's mother, confirming what Roger already had read on Rose's mail.

"I see…", was all Roger could say, as he was nearly speechless.

"Roger, I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen, but I promise you that I'll talk with her parents tomorrow", Vivian attempted in vain to assure Roger.

***

A few hours had passed since Roger got the mail from Rose. After eating dinner, he had since then been lying on his bed thinking about Rose's situation in his depression. How was she handling it at home? Roger felt that he should contact her through a mail, yet he was also afraid that her father could see it.

While her mother had always been a reasonable person, her father was a different matter altogether. So much in fact, that it shouldn't have come as a surprise for Roger and everyone else that he had forbidden his own daughter to see her friend again when he thought about it. Whatever the case, he hoped it wouldn't end like this.

"Roger, can I come in?", Roger heard a voice behind the door to his room.

"Yeah", he answered, followed by the door being opened and Don entering his room. Roger sat up on his bed and watched Don as he closed the door again.

"There's something I would like to ask you about, but eh... I'm not certain this is the right time…", Don seemed to struggle finding words.

"What is it? Don't be afraid to talk about whatever is in your mind, Don", said Roger while faking a smile, masking his depression.

"Very well then… The thing is, do you remember when I said I wanted to find my trainer?", asked Don, to which Roger nodded in confirmation, "I've since then realized that it would be difficult for a Pokémon like me to wander around the Kanto region. I mean, I'm pretty rare Pokémon and other humans would wonder why I'm walking around towns and cities. What's more…"

"You're not used to travel alone, right?" Roger interrupted, which surprised and seemly embarrassed Don.

"I-I-I never said that!", exclaimed Don before regaining his composure, "Besides what I've said, however, you're the first human who can understand what I say, so you're also the only one I can fully trust. What I'm asking is…"

Don seemed to hesitate to complete the sentence, obviously because of the issue with Rose and her father. But Roger did have an idea what Don was about to say.

"You want me to travel with you to search for your trainer, correct?", Roger asked Don.

"Yeah…", Don said with some hesitation, "I know that you and Rose's problem is troubling you, and I had intended to ask you earlier. But if I didn't ask you now, I may not have done that at all."

Somehow, Roger wasn't shocked or surprised of being asked to travel around the Kanto region. Instead, there was a tingling feeling inside of him, something which were vaguely familiar. It both exited, and frightened him.

"Do you mind that we talk with my mom and brother about it, Don?", asked Roger. He was in doubt whether or not he should help Don, mostly because of the situation with Rose, but partially also because of that feeling he had inside of him.

"Fine by me, though they may trouble understanding me, you know", Don pointed out.

"Oh, right, I forgot that I'm the only who can understand you", realized Roger.

Both of them then walked out of Roger's room and went down to the kitchen and into the living room, where Tommy and their mother were sitting on one of the black couches talking about something.

Besides the couches, there were several other furniture in the room, such as the wooden table surrounded by the couches and the TV-table a few meters away had a similar High Definition TV standing on top of it. Not far away from those was a an empty fireplace which during winter, it would keep the entire house nice and warm, but since it was summer at the moment, it was currently unused. The walls were painted white and were covered in some places by photos of Roger's family and Pokémon.

"Mom, Tommy, can I talk with you two about something?", Roger asked while approaching his family.

"Is it about Rose?", his mother asked him.

"Yes and no, it's mostly not about her this time. It's about Don here", said Roger, before seeing that the two of them were a bit confused, "that's the Charmeleon's name, by the way."

"Is it about that you can understand him, Roger?", asked Tommy.

"Partially about that, yes", said Roger as he sat down on another, nearby couch.

Roger then began talking about Don's predicament of finding his own Pokémon trainer somewhere in the Kanto region and that Don had requested his help to search for his trainer. He also told them about the odd feeling he had inside when Don asked for his help searching for his missing trainer. He also stated that while he would gladly help Don, he was still worried about Rose's situation.

Tommy and their mother also questioned about his ability to talk with Don, to which Roger told them about Old Harry's story and the possibility of being a descendant of the woman told of in the story, despite knowing that they might be skeptical about it. After having explained everything and answered questions regarding his abilities to understand Don, Roger was surprised to see Tommy smiling.

"This is more than just wishing to help Don, right? This is also about your desire to travel", said Tommy, which surprised Roger.

"What do you mean, Tommy?", asked a confused Roger.

"That odd feeling you had is proof. Don't you remember three years ago when your father died, you refused to start your career as a Pokémon trainer as a result?", asked their mother.

"Yes, I do remember that", said Roger, though he wasn't happy about being reminded of his father's death, "but what does it have to with this?"

"To be honest, we were worried about you, Roger. You haven't been the same since dad died three years ago", explained Tommy, "we were worried that you didn't want to become a Pokémon trainer anymore after that."

"Wait, are you saying…", Roger paused in surprise.

"I cannot see a reason not to allow you to help the Charmeleon finding his trainer", stated their mother with a smile, "but you should also consider becoming a trainer yourself. And don't worry about Rose, I'll have a nice, long talk with her father about this."

"I would be assured by those words, Roger. After all, this is our mom we're talking about", Tommy teased, causing their mother to hit him softly with her elbow, "but just to be certain, I'll give her a hand having a talk with Mr. Anderson."

Roger couldn't help but laugh while feeling the same excitement he had felt earlier. Could it really be that something inside of him really wishes to become a Pokémon trainer? He thought he had given up that dream three years ago, yet after all that time, it had been reawakened by a few words from Tommy and their mother.

"Yeah, I think I'll become one as well", said Roger with a smile while looking at Don, who also smiled in joy, "and thank you, mom and Tommy, for being willing to talk with Mr. Anderson about me and Rose."

"You're welcome, little bro. I'll go and contact a friend of mine in Viridian City, he can help you get started with equipment and such", Tommy smiled before heading towards the phone near the door to the kitchen.

"I'll go and prepare some stuff upstairs", said Roger as he started walking out of the living room, but stopped for a moment and turned around to face his mother, "is it alright I try and contact Rose and tell her everything?"

His mother gave him a nod in approval and winked, "If her father finds out about that you have contacted Rose, I'll just say I gave you permission to do so."

Assured by his mother, Roger and Don walked back up to Roger's room, excitement filling up in his stomach.

"Well, this is it, Don", said Roger.

"Yep. And thank you for being willing to help me once more, Roger, after all what's happened", said Don as they walked on the stairs.

"And now it doesn't benefit only you, Don, now that I'm becoming a Pokémon trainer", said Roger with a smile. At that moment, Don stopped at the top of the stairs and gave Roger a serious look.

"There's one thing I want to clarify for you. Even though I'll be travelling with you, that doesn't mean I'll listen to you in battles or training. I will help once in a while, but that's it", stated Don in a serious tone.

"Why's that?", asked Roger in surprise.

"Pride, really. That's all you need to know", answered Don, which Roger didn't expect such a short answer, he but didn't push further on the subject.

After their brief discussion, both of them entered Roger's room once more and Roger immediately headed over to his laptop and started writing a mail intended for Rose.

Hi Rose. It's me, Roger. Listen, mom nad Tommy is going to have a serious talk with your dad about the fact that you're not allowed to see me again. I know he may be stubborn, but this is my family we're talking about. So I have every bit of faith in them.

Also, I've talked with the Charmeleon (yes, talked!) and turns out, his name is Don and he already has a Pokémon trainer he got separated from. So I decided to help him locate his trainer somewhere in the Kanto region, as well as becoming a trainer myself in the meantime (I know, I know, you're not interested in anything Pokémon-related). I promise you, though, after mom and Tommy have resolved the issue with your dad, I'll come back to the Sevii Islands as fast as possible to see you again. I can assure you that I will do that.

Best regards and see you soon, Roger.

After he inspected the mail several times, Roger pressed the "Send" button and saw the confirmation that the mail had been sent to Rose. All he could do now was hoping that she would read his mail hopefully brighten up her mood. Seeing there was nothing more he could do for her, Roger decided to pack his backpack with clothes and everything else necessary for travelling.

***

The next morning, Roger, Don, Tommy, Vivian and Old Harry were standing at the pier, with Roger now wearing a red jacket over his black t-shirt, his blue backpack on his back and some black shoes perfect for long-distance travels. They were waiting for the ferry at the pier, a catamaran colored white and blue, to be ready for sailing to the mainland.

"Well, this is it", said Roger as he looked at his family, particularly at his mother who walked over and gave him a hug.

"Best of luck in your travels, Roger my dear", she said while being close to tears, which was touching for Roger, who returned the hug. Both eventually let go of each other and Tommy was the one to approach him this time.

"Best of luck, little bro, "said Tommy while handing over an envelope to Roger, "I've contacted a friend of mine in Viridian City, who owns a store which sells some merchandise you could use, like Pokéballs. Give this to him when you meet him."

"What about my first Pokémon, then? How should I get one?", asked Roger.

"Well, you could ask Don for help catching one", Tommy pointed put while winking, "after all, I had to capture my first Pokémon with someone else's help."

"One thing at a time, pal. We need to get to the mainland first, Roger", stated Don in serious tone, "I'll help with your first Pokémon, but you're on your own after that."

"You're right, Don", said Roger, having not forgotten their discussion yesterday. As Tommy took a step back, it was Old Harry's turn to approach Roger.

"Roger, do you mind I borrow your feather for a moment?", he asked. Roger nodded and pulled out his feather from his pocket. Old Harry gently took it and began tying a knot at its root with a leather string he picked out from a pocket. When finished, both ends of the leather string was tied to the feather's root, forming a ring.

"I thought it would be better if you carried the feather as a pendant instead of keeping in your pocket, where it would get worn down", explained Old Harry as he returned the feather-pendant.

"Thank you, Old Harry", Roger thanked him before taking off his fedora, placing the leather pendant around his neck and returned his hat back onto his head. He felt better knowing that the feather wouldn't be ruined from being in his pocket all the time. After all, it was an important gift from Moltress.

"The Seagallop Ferry is leaving for Vermillion City in a moment, Roger, so finish everything you need to now", a sailor appeared from the boat and addressed to Roger.

"Thanks for the heads up, Clark", said Roger to the sailor before facing his family and Old Harry, "I'll contact you as soon as I'm in Viridian, alright?"

"Take care of yourself, both of you", said Vivian and waved Roger and Don goodbye as they entered the ferry.

"We will, mom. See you later, everyone!", Roger waved all of them goodbye as the ferry began to move. He kept waving at his family and Old Harry until they were out of his field of vision. The island began growing smaller and smaller as the ferry moved further away until eventually, only Mt. Ember could be seen in the horizon.

It was at that moment that Roger knew it would be a while before he would see his home island once more. But he also hoped that when he one day returned home, he would be able to see Rose again by that time.

***

As Tommy watched the ferry disappear into the horizon, he couldn't help but feel proud of his younger brother for making that decision of travelling around Kanto, even if the reason primarily was searching for Don's missing trainer. But he was also worried about him, especially because of the current situation with the Pokémon League.

"Well, I'll head back home if you two don't mind", said Old Harry to Vivian and Tommy.

"Very well, Mr. Harrison, farewell for now", said Vivian to Old Harry as he walked towards north where his house was located, "we better head home too, Tommy."

"Yeah, got some reports to write to the League Committee, anyway", stated Tommy as he walked alongside his mother. But that wasn't his immediate concern at the moment.

Why did he let Roger leave, knowing what he's going to experience? Maybe it was because of that look he gave him when he allowed Roger to travel with Don. It had been a long time since he saw Roger being determined in something, in this case, to help Don, no matter what. His younger brother also seemed truly happy for the first time since their father's death from the prospect of becoming a Pokémon trainer. It was as if something had awakened inside of him. He just hoped it wouldn't die when Roger faced the reality in the outside world.

Roger, don't cause any trouble, for your own sake.

 

[some colour no doubt]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary

Okay, i'll do boring grammar stuff first:

Spoiler

"You incompetent, foolhardy, reckless idiots you two are!"

Doesn't quite make sense to have two "you"s in their. Maybe swap the first one for a "what", so it would read "What incompetent, foolhardy, reckless idiots you two are!"

"If you're embarrassed now, then you have only seen the top of the iceberg!

I believe the phrase is "tip of the iceberg" rather than "top of the iceberg"



There a are a few other minor things, but those two were the ones which glared out at me.

A good second chapter! I liked what you introduced with Moltres and can't wait see how Roger is connected to everything. I feel for him as well not being able to talk to Rose, so i either hope he sorts things out or meets her later on in the story.

Your speech can be a bit, unnatural at times, it might be worth re-wording a few sections? Just try and write it how a conversation between you and the character would pan out. It's quite difficult and something most of us struggle with, but it just requires practice and lots of re-reading and editing. If you go over some of the typos and grammar errors it will also help the story flow a bit better as well.

All in all, a good follow up chapter, introducing some good background story knowledge of the island and other characters, so keep it up!

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary

Okay, i'll do boring grammar stuff first:

Spoiler

"You incompetent, foolhardy, reckless idiots you two are!"

Doesn't quite make sense to have two "you"s in their. Maybe swap the first one for a "what", so it would read "What incompetent, foolhardy, reckless idiots you two are!"

"If you're embarrassed now, then you have only seen the top of the iceberg!

I believe the phrase is "tip of the iceberg" rather than "top of the iceberg"



There a are a few other minor things, but those two were the ones which glared out at me.

They have now been corrected, thank you for pointing them out.

A good second chapter! I liked what you introduced with Moltres and can't wait see how Roger is connected to everything. I feel for him as well not being able to talk to Rose, so i either hope he sorts things out or meets her later on in the story.

It was definitely hard for Roger for losing his friend like that, but his mother and brother are doing what they can to solve this situation for him. Rose's father isn't exactly in a "talkative mood" with Roger at the moment, so there's not much he can do but wait for news while he travels.

Your speech can be a bit, unnatural at times, it might be worth re-wording a few sections? Just try and write it how a conversation between you and the character would pan out. It's quite difficult and something most of us struggle with, but it just requires practice and lots of re-reading and editing. If you go over some of the typos and grammar errors it will also help the story flow a bit better as well.

That's actually a great suggestion, trying to write a conversation with the characters. I'm gonna try and do that

All in all, a good follow up chapter, introducing some good background story knowledge of the island and other characters, so keep it up!

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

 

[Flaze]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 2 is up)

Hi Rose. It's me, Roger. Listen, mom Tommy is going to have a serious talk with your dad about the fact that you're not allowed to see me again. I know he may be stubborn, but this is my family we're talking about. So I have every bit of faith in them.

It should be just "mom is going to" or "mom and tommy are going to" either way would be fine.

Also, I've talked with the Charmeleon (yes, talked!) and turns out, his name is Don and he already have a Pokémon trainer he got separated from. So I decided to help him locate his trainer somewhere in the Kanto region, as well as becoming a trainer myself in the meantime (I know, I know, you're not interested in anything Pokémon-related). I promise you, though, after mom and Tommy have resolved the issue with your dad, I'll come back to the Sevii Islands as fast as possible to see you again. I can assure you that I will do that.

Has xD


Other than that I think it was a pretty good chapter, though I would've liked a little more emotion to be put on the moment when Roger first saw the email, this is his best friend after all so more expo on that aspect would've made things better and would've shown a different side of him more. I like Don so far but he seems a bit generic personality wise, though it'll be interesting to see him as a mentor.

I'm curious to see as to what will happen with Rose, maybe she'll end up becoming a trainer too. And I also wonder what Tommy meant when he said that Roger would find out the truth about the world, that's a lot of foreshadowing right there.

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 2 is up)

Hi Rose. It's me, Roger. Listen, mom Tommy is going to have a serious talk with your dad about the fact that you're not allowed to see me again. I know he may be stubborn, but this is my family we're talking about. So I have every bit of faith in them.

It should be just "mom is going to" or "mom and tommy are going to" either way would be fine.

Also, I've talked with the Charmeleon (yes, talked!) and turns out, his name is Don and he already have a Pokémon trainer he got separated from. So I decided to help him locate his trainer somewhere in the Kanto region, as well as becoming a trainer myself in the meantime (I know, I know, you're not interested in anything Pokémon-related). I promise you, though, after mom and Tommy have resolved the issue with your dad, I'll come back to the Sevii Islands as fast as possible to see you again. I can assure you that I will do that.

Has xD

I've corrected those errors, thanks for pointing them out.

Other than that I think it was a pretty good chapter, though I would've liked a little more emotion to be put on the moment when Roger first saw the email, this is his best friend after all so more expo on that aspect would've made things better and would've shown a different side of him more. I like Don so far but he seems a bit generic personality wise, though it'll be interesting to see him as a mentor.

When I look back, I can see your point with the scene where Roger gets his mail could use some more details and emotion. I'll also try to make sure that Don won't be a character with generic personality.

I'm curious to see as to what will happen with Rose, maybe she'll end up becoming a trainer too. And I also wonder what Tommy meant when he said that Roger would find out the truth about the world, that's a lot of foreshadowing right there.

All will be revealed in due time ;-)

 

[Kelleo]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 2 is up)

I just finished reading the first chapter since you requested such in the review game, and I must say, this is very interesting so far, Tophat!

You have some errors that need fixing, mostly typos, though. For example:

It has been a week since his older brother Tommy was last at home before he left for the Indigo Plateau for business-related work. Since then, the house has been rather empty since he also took with him all of his Pokémon just in case.

The bolded should be "had" not "has." It's important to keep your tense consistent in your writing, in this case, past tense. The word "has" is present tense.

"Roger, can't you really understand what it says?", asked Rose with a shaken voice.

That should be "can" since Roger is, in fact, understanding the Charmeleon's words.

"Rose, can you help me carrying him to the Pokémon Center?", he asked her, but he could see that she was still shaken from had happened so far, "Rose!"

Should be "carry." Also, that last comma should be a period.

"Also, no Pokémon living on this island could inflict this kind of injuries!"

Should be "these kinds" since you're using them to refer to a plural word.

"Wh-what happened, Roger?! All of a sudden, that Charmeleon seemed completely refreshed!", asked Rose in confusion.

Should be "seems" since the Charmeleon is still refreshed at this point.

And that's really all I can see for right now. I'm curious as to what the first part of this chapter, where the unnamed girl is being chased by Team Rocket, has to do with the rest of the story, as well as how Roger can understand Pokemon language, but I'm sure you'll explain this in due time.

This is pretty decent overall, but you seem to have trouble keeping a consistent tense in your writing. This is easy to fix, though. You basically just have to remember that description is written in past tense and character dialogue and thoughts are most often written in present tense. Of course, the exception for the latter is when the character is talking about a past event.

Also, I glanced at the second chapter. The Charmeleon's name is Don? That sounds awfully familiar. If I recall right, there's a Charizard in the Pokemon Chronicles series named Don. Is this Charmeleon that same Pokemon, only before it evolved?

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 2 is up)

I just finished reading the first chapter since you requested such in the review game, and I must say, this is very interesting so far, Tophat!

You have some errors that need fixing, mostly typos, though. For example:

It has been a week since his older brother Tommy was last at home before he left for the Indigo Plateau for business-related work. Since then, the house has been rather empty since he also took with him all of his Pokémon just in case.

The bolded should be "had" not "has." It's important to keep your tense consistent in your writing, in this case, past tense. The word "has" is present tense.

"Roger, can't you really understand what it says?", asked Rose with a shaken voice.

That should be "can" since Roger is, in fact, understanding the Charmeleon's words.

"Rose, can you help me carrying him to the Pokémon Center?", he asked her, but he could see that she was still shaken from had happened so far, "Rose!"

Should be "carry." Also, that last comma should be a period.

"Also, no Pokémon living on this island could inflict this kind of injuries!"

Should be "these kinds" since you're using them to refer to a plural word.

"Wh-what happened, Roger?! All of a sudden, that Charmeleon seemed completely refreshed!", asked Rose in confusion.

Should be "seems" since the Charmeleon is still refreshed at this point.

I've now corrected the errors you have pointed out, Kelleo, thank you for doing so. And many thanks as well for reviewing the chapter

And that's really all I can see for right now. I'm curious as to what the first part of this chapter, where the unnamed girl is being chased by Team Rocket, has to do with the rest of the story, as well as how Roger can understand Pokemon language, but I'm sure you'll explain this in due time.

That I will in the future ;-)

This is pretty decent overall, but you seem to have trouble keeping a consistent tense in your writing. This is easy to fix, though. You basically just have to remember that description is written in past tense and character dialogue and thoughts are most often written in present tense. Of course, the exception for the latter is when the character is talking about a past event.

I'm aware of that. It just happens to slip past me from time to time, but thanks anyway for pointing that out.

Also, I glanced at the second chapter. The Charmeleon's name is Don? That sounds awfully familiar. If I recall right, there's a Charizard in the Pokemon Chronicles series named Don. Is this Charmeleon that same Pokemon, only before it evolved?

While they share the same name, the two of them are different characters and are in no way related.

 

[Kelleo]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 2 is up)

I've now corrected the errors you have pointed out, Kelleo, thank you for doing so. And many thanks as well for reviewing the chapter

Ah, you're quite welcome!

That I will in the future ;-)

Oh, sweetness.

I'm aware of that. It just happens to slip past me from time to time, but thanks anyway for pointing that out.

Oh, my apologies then. Heh. ^^;

While they share the same name, the two of them are different characters and are in no way related.

Ah, I see. I was just curious, really. I'm gonna read more of this when I can!

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 3 is up (finally)

@some colour no doubt;, @Flaze;

I'm really, really sorry about this HUGE delay it took before this chapter got up. I hope you readers were patient enough, because this chapter is going to start making things interesting.

Also a notice to all readers. In a few hours, there will be posted a one-shot fic in a separate thread that is related to Flames of a Revolutionary. Keep an eye out for "Flames of a Revolutionary: A Maiden's Decision".

Chapter 3: Equality, Part 1

Roger yawned with his mouth wide open, having just woken up after a particularly large bump in the horse carriage he was sitting in. It was being pulled by two Rapidashes, two horse-like Pokémon with black hooves, cream-colored bodies and red eyes. While the horns growing out of their foreheads were unique, what took Roger's attention when he saw them for the first time, was the flames around their bodies. Orange flames were produced from their ankles, and their long manes were also made out of flames, extending down the back and further, creating their fiery tails.

When Roger woke up, he was reminded that he and Don, who was sleeping nearby on a fireproof carpet, were still in the Diglett Cave by the rocky walls and ceiling and the floor, all near-perfectly smooth, presumably made by the Digletts and Dugtrios living here. What allowed him to see what was around him was the Rapidashes' fiery manes and Don's tail-flame that was providing the only source of light in the cave.

"Well, yer awake now, son?", an old man steering the Rapidashes' reins asked Roger. His long and fully grown beard was shaking for every feet the carriage was driving was driving and he also had to adjust his blue cap back into position from all the shakings. He was wearing a pair of jeans, a red shirt on his torso with an open, black vest partially covering it and a pair of sandals on his feet.

"Just so", answered Roger as he put his fedora on his head. "I thought we had camped for the middle of the night somewhere in the tunnel. Got a bit surprised that we were moving."

"We had camped for the night, sonny, I just decided to move on in the middle of the night. It's morning right now, even though it might be difficult to think it is since we're underground", explained the old man. "But it won't be long now 'til we arrive at the exit."

"I see", said Roger somewhat drowsy. "I've been thinking, how come there's a horse carriage instead of, for example, a train in this tunnel?"

"Them Digletts and Dugtrios are sensitive critters", said the old man, "and since this tunnel is the only known place in Kanto where they live, and the fact that this tunnel is a popular shortcut for trainers and 'like, a horse carriage is the best option of transportation without disturbing them too much."

"Speaking of Digletts *yawn*, how come we haven't seen one yet?", asked Roger while covering his mouth when he yawned.

"They know we're here and they're a bit on the shy side. But, if we were to stand still for a few minutes, they might just appear", stated the old man. "But I don't have time for that, I'm afraid, you'll have to wait for another day."

"What all that ruckus… I'm trying to sleep here...", Roger could hear Don waking up, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

"Morning, Don. I see you're awake now", Roger greeted the Charmeleon.

"Not voluntarily, I can tell you that...", Don yawned with his mouth wide open.

Roger managed to make a smile in his tired state at Don's remark before thinking back to the day before. They had just arrived in Vermillion City and proceeded to the Diglett Cave, where the old man with his horse carriage and his two Rapidashes were waiting outside the entrance. It turned out that he was making business transporting people through the cave, which would take around a day to get to the other side, including camping somewhere in the middle.

Since Roger and Don had just started their journey, he offered them a ride free of charge through the cave. Both Roger and Don were happy to accept the offer instead of travelling through it by foot, which would take several days.

An hour after both Roger and Don had woken up, followed by some tales the old man told on the way, they could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. As they got closer, the carriage slowed down until eventually, it stopped a few meters away from the exit.

"Well, this is as far we go, son", said the old man.

"Many thanks for transporting us, sir", Roger thanked the old man as he and Don jumped down from the carriage.

"Yer more than welcome. Viridian City is just south over yonder when yer go through that exit", explained the old man.

With that, the old man said his farewell and rode back on his carriage into the dark cave.

***

As Roger and Don vent through the exit, they were momentarily blinded by the harsh sunlight that greeted them. As their eyes adjusted themselves to the light, they could slowly see that they were now standing in the middle of a large green, open area, with only the small hill of rock, which they had just gone out of, being what was noticeable in the vicinity.

As Roger looked into the sky and inhaled the fresh smell of grass and air, he began to appreciate all of it after spending a day underground in the damp and dark Diglett Cave. He looked to the north and saw a dense-looking forest, and to the south were several houses and building just within Roger's line of sight.

"That must be Viridian City to the south of us, Don", said Roger as he returned to his senses.

Don took a hard look to the south before saying, "Yep, that's Viridian City, alright. I recognize it from the last time Emily and I were here."

"Emily? That's your trainer's name?", asked Roger in surprise.

"Wait, we forgot talking about her, Roger?", asked Don.

"Well, it's not like we could. After all, if would be trouble if someone found out that I can understand what you say", stated Roger.

"Ahhh... so that's why you were quiet whenever I tried talking with you while we were together with that old coot in the tunnel!", Don realized.

"Sorry about that, Don", Roger chuckled, "but it was better off keeping the old man unaware of my ability. The fewer who knows about it, the better."

"What about your family and - what was it you called him? Old Harry?", asked Don.

"We can trust them, don't worry about it", answered Roger, "anyway, back to the topic of your trainer. Emily, was it?"

"Yep, that's her name", said Don as he and Roger started walking towards the city.

"So what does she like? It would be a big help if we knew who we were looking for", asked Roger.

She is around your age, but slightly smaller than you, Roger", Don began to explain as they walked, "she's got long, brown hair and wears a pair off… what do you humans call it again? It's something you wear in front of your eyes..."

"You mean a pair of glasses", Roger corrected Don.

"Yeah, that's it!", exclaimed Don before calming down, "She regularly change clothes from time to time, by the way, so it might be a bit difficult to recognize her for you. And… that's about it."

Roger could already see a problem with trying to locate this Emily. There were most likely many girls around his age in the Kanto region who had long, brown hair and were wearing glasses. To make matters worse, this Emily, according to Don, had a habit of regularly change her clothing, meaning it would make it even more difficult to locate her.

Was that vague description all they could go for? There must've been more about Emily that could help them locate her, and helping her and Don to be reunited.

"Don, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think what you've described will be enough", explained Roger in sadness. He didn't liked breaking Don's spirit of finding his missing trainer, but he had to tell the truth. To roger's surprise, however, Don didn't seem to discouraged by what he had said.

"Don't worry, we still got my secret weapon to help us", stated Don wryly while scratching his nose.

"What secret we - oh~", Roger realized what Don meant before smiling, "so I just need to identify a girl matching your description and you'll see if you can recognize her smell, right?"

"That's the gist", said Don in satisfaction.

"Just a final question, Don", Roger requested, "how is she like in personality?"

"Well… how should I put this? It is as if she can read your mind", explained Don, leaving Roger both surprised and wondering what he meant about that, "but she's a good girl in her heart and she's not afraid to speak of her mind… I… I guess that's what got me and her into trouble."

Roger saw that Don's mood visibly changed to a more depressing one, when the subject went towards when he and Emily got separated. It somewhat reminded Roger of him and Rose being separated by Rose's father for good, which he still hoped it wouldn't be, and as such felt sorry for Don.

"No need to talk about it if you don't like it, Don", Roger stopped walking, went down to his knees and patted Don on his shoulder, "I know how you feel, so just give it some time if you need to."

"I guess so...", Roger heard Don muttered. He had the impression that something about Don's and Emily's separation was plaguing the flame Pokémon, but he wasn't willing to push the subject since it sounded very touchy.

***

The next hour it took for the two to reach Viridian City, neither Roger or Don talked further about Emily or about how she and Don got separated. They were quiet until they reached the outskirt of the city, which was mostly covered by a suburban area of houses. Further into the city, Roger could see, to his surprise, that nearly all of the buildings weren't even close to be as tall as the lighthouse back on Knot Island.

"You know, I thought all cities had these REALLY tall buildings!", said Roger as he raised his arms high above his head to show what he meant, "But Viridian City only feels… something like Knot Island, only with more people and buildings."

"You sound disappointed. I guess that's what ya get for being an island kid", stated Don while smiling, seemly in better mood now.

"Well, I've been in Vermillion City before, but Viridian… it feels so small…", explained Roger with raised eyebrow, "anyway, let's find the store Tommy talked about. He said the owner could help us getting some equipment."

Despite Viridian City being smaller than he expected, Roger did had to ask for directions a couple of times for a store that sold equipment and merchandises to Pokémon trainers. Eventually, they managed to locate it on the other side of the city from where they entered it. It was a small building, white building, with only a sign just outside the door saying "Pokémart" and a large window showing several merchandises and equipment for Pokémon trainers, breeders and anything in between, that indicated that it was a store.

"No Pokémon outside their Pokéballs are allowed inside the store", Roger read out loud what a sign next to the entrance said, "I guess you'll have to stay outside and wait for me, Don."

"Talk about a mood killer. Here I was, interested to see what was inside", said Don with sarcasm in his voice, "Guess I'll just have to wait for you outside and take a nap, while you go inside and shop a little bit."

"I… I guess…", said Roger with raised eyebrow. He couldn't tell if Don was joking or not, but as the flame Pokémon lied down onto his stomach and closed his eyes, Roger shrugged it off and entered the store.

Inside, he saw several shelves all perfectly lined up and filled with anything related to Pokémon, training and everything in between. One was filled with magazines with the latest news across Kanto and beyond, from Pokémon trainers, the latest fashions, breeding and Pokémon Contests, something which Roger was unfamiliar with. Another shelve had all kinds of Pokéballs, from the familiar red and white orbs, to the blue and white with red stripes to the top part's sides.

On a third shelve was various equipment for Pokémon and their trainers or breeders. Grooming sets, first aid kits, and what looked like a storage device for Pokéballs meant to be strapped on a arm. But when Roger took a closer look and saw the price, he immediately backed off, knowing that there's no way in a million years he could afford that.

"You looking for something?", a voice asked Roger, who turned around towards the cash register and saw a young man standing at it. He had short, brown hair with fair skin color, and he was wearing a white shirt, which had a collar around his neck, and a pair of blue jeans.

"Actually, I'm here because of this", stated Roger as picked from his backpack the envelope he got from his older brother. He then approached the clerk and gave it to him, who opened it and read the paper inside with great interest.

"You must be Roger, Tommy's 'little bro', right?", asked the clerk wryly.

"Did he really called me that?", said Roger while scratching the back f his head, "But yeah, that's me. He said you could help me."

"That I can and apparently will. The name's Matthew by the way, but just call me Matt", the clerk said, "just remember to tell your brother the next time you meet him that he should pay me, okay?"

With that, Matthew walked away from the cash register with a plastic basket in one hand and started walking around the store with the piece of paper from Tommy, followed by Roger.

"So… what's you and Tommy's story? You seem to know each other well", asked Roger.

"I was a veteran Pokémon trainer when I first met Tommy around six years ago. And for some reason, he didn't have a Pokémon when he started out, so I helped him catch his first one - ah, there it is!", said Matthew as he found what he was looking for and placed it in the basket before moving on.

"That would be König you're talking about" said Roger, "but that wasn't the last time you met him, is it?"

"Nope, he actually started travelling with me for a while, and we've since kept contact", Matthew explained as he started placing Pokéballs into the basket.

"Out of curiosity, how come you stopped being a Pokémon trainer and started working at a store?", asked Roger. However, Matthew became silent to that question and stopped placing Pokéballs into the basket.

"Let's just say I have my reasons…", was all Matthew said on the subject before returning to picking up Pokéballs.

Seeing that Matthew wasn't willing to talk about it, Roger dropped the subject and quietly followed Matthew around until he was finished and walked back to the desk with the cash register. When he placed the basket on top of the desk, Matthew took up something up from it. In Roger's eyes, it resembled a flexible, cylinder-shaped piece of metal abruptly cut in half and had three small holes on the round side.

"I can see you're wondering what in the world this is", Matthew grinned at Roger, "this is a Pokéball holder. You attach your Pokéballs into these round holes, where magnets keeps them in place."

Matthew demonstrated that by taking a Pokéball from the basket, shrinking it down from baseball-size to ping pong- size by pressing the button in the middle and then placing it inside one of the empty holes. He flipped it upside down and sure enough, the Pokéball stayed attached.

"What's more, it can be easily attached to your belt", said Matthew as he gave the Pokéball holder to Roger, who immediately tried and successfully attached it to his left side of the belt.

"Neat", Roger smiled, "does it comes in two?"

"Yep, for the price of one", said Matthew as he handed over another holder to Roger, "next are some Pokéballs. But you already know about them, right?"

"Yeah, it comes with the family", Roger wryly said as he accepted the Pokéballs and placed them in the holders, "Is it possible that I can get a Pokédex? Without it, I'm not officially considered a Pokémon trainer."

"Y-yeah… sure… That's odd. Tommy didn't write anything about that. Wait a moment, will you? I'll go and see if I can find one", Matthew sounded perplexed as he headed through the door behind the desk.

Roger raised an eyebrow in confusion over Matthew's behavior. It was just a simple Pokédex Roger needed, but Matthew almost behaved like it was something dangerous. Even when he returned with one, Matthew looked like he had seen a ghost.

"You alright Matt? You look pale…", asked a somewhat worried Roger.

"I'm fine… more importantly, did Tommy say anything you should know?", Matthew nervously asked.

"Ehhh… no? What should he have said to me?", asked Roger, now even more confused.

"Never mind… I have no rights to meddle with Tommy's reasoning. Anyway, here's your Pokédex, Roger, make good use of it", said Matthew as he gave Roger the Pokédex.

The Pokédex was crimson red and was around the size of a wallet and was an inch thick. Roger opened the lid to the right side and saw a LCD screen covering the top half of the Pokédex, while the button half and the backside of the lid had several buttons. Some of them were arrow keys, while others seemly were for different functions Roger didn't know about.

"Looks complicated… I hope this comes with a manual", said Roger while scratching his hair.

"THERE'S NO NEED FOR A MANUAL. I CAN EASILY PROVIDE IT AS YOU NEED", a computerized, female voice coming from the Pokédex startled Roger.

"It talks?! I wasn't told a Pokédex could talk!", exclaimed Roger, while Matthew simply chuckled at Roger's surprise.

"THAT WOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE. AFTER ALL, IT IS ONLY RECENTLY THAT THE POKÉMON DIGITAL ENCYCLOPEDIA, COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE POKÉDEX, HAS BEEN GIVEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLECT, AS WELL AS A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS ME TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU", the Pokédex explained to a still surprised Roger.

"O-okay…", said Roger nervously, This is turning out weird...

"Right then, I guess that would be all you'll need, Roger", stated Matthew and gave Roger a handshake, "tell Tommy that I said hi, and also that he owes me money now."

"Yep, thank you for everything, Matt", said Roger as he returned the handshake. Despite Matthew trying, Roger could still tell that he was somewhat nervous. But why was he nervous about the Pokédex?

***

"Don?", asked Roger when he exited the store and saw to his surprise that Don no longer was waiting at the front door. He looked around to see if he was nearby, but to his disappointment, he didn't have any luck doing so.

"Don, where are you?!", Roger called out to Don, but got no response. While he was certain that Don could handle things on his own despite still being injured, Roger was still wondering of where he was. But before he think of that, he got the answer from an intense stream of fire firing skywards a few blocks away.

Knowing that it could be no other than Don, Roger quickly ran towards to the location of where the Flamethrower came from. As he approached it, he could hear a lot of noises of what he thought sounded like trash cans and other stuff being thrown around. As he entered the alley he deduced the Flamethrower came from, he was greeted by a metallic trash bin thrown towards him, but managed to jump to the side in time.

"Good to see ya got my signal, Roger!", Roger heard Don saying a few meters away.

"Well who could've miss a giant column of fire in the middle of a city?", remarked Roger with sarcasm as he stood up. "What're you doing here anyway?"

"This fur ball here decided I'm on his turf and started to attack - HEY, WATCH IT!", exclaimed Don as he jumped away from another thrown thrash bin.

Roger looked over to where the trash bin came from and saw that the 'fur ball' was actually an angry-looking Mankey holding another trash bin above its head. Its round body was covered in a white, messy fur with its arms, two-toed feet and curved tail tipped with brown coloration. On top of its body were two, triangular ears with brown insides, and in the middle of the body was its face with two red, fierce-looking eyes and a pig-like snout.

"Anyway, with any luck, you might have your first catch today, Roger!", said Don as he dodged another thrown trash bin.

"Good point", said Roger with a smile, "besides that, that Mankey seems to be causing enough rampage here to warrant a catch."

"BATTLE WITH WILD POKÉMON CONFIRMED", Roger suddenly heard his Pokédex in his pocket saying, "PERMISSION TO CATCH WILD MANKEY: DENIED."

"Whoa whoa whoa! That's for me to decide!", exclaimed Roger in anger as he took out the Pokédex.

"AS I'VE SAID, THE PERMISSION TO CATCH MANKEY HAS BEEN DENIED AND THE ORDER SHOULD IN NO WAY BE REFUSED", explained the Pokédex, which only made Roger more angry at it and also confused.

"Look, it's my own decision whether or not I want to catch Mankey or not. Besides, it's making more than enough trouble here to warrant that", Roger tried to explain the Pokédex.

"What the hell are you doing, Roger?! Ready a Pokéball already!", shouted Don, pulling Roger back to the situation at hand.

Roger then saw that in that moment of lack of focus, the Mankey took the chance and kicked Don's feet away, causing the flame Pokémon to lose his balance. But he quickly managed to land on his hands and countered by swinging his tail, sending the Mankey flying by several feet towards a nearby pylon.

"Tch, these bandages are nothing but a nuisance right now. I can hardly move at all!", said Don as he ripped off the bandages.

"Don, we better finish this battle quickly, otherwise, that Mankey might start to demolish something to use against us", Roger pointed out, to which he realized he might have been more correct than he anticipated. Just as he had said that, the Mankey began trying to pull at a piece off of a nearby pylon.

"You make a good point, Captain Obvious! Better finish this with a Fire Punch!", said Don as his left fist started to ignite with flames. With no hesitation in his movement, Don ran towards the Mankey at full speed with the intention of finishing this battle.

Just as the Mankey almost managed to pull a piece of the pylon, Don was in front of it and punched the pig monkey Pokémon straight in the face, sending it flying towards multiple trashcans. When the Mankey hit them, it caused such a loud noise that Roger had to hold his ears from the ruckus. As the dust settled, the Mankey was lying unconscious among the trashcans and junk. As Roger approached the mess, he was briefly overwhelmed by the stench and had to pinch his nose to keep the it at bay.

"At neast you cnould've send the Mankey fnying somewhere else", Roger complained as he pulled out a Pokéball from his pocket.

"It was you who said that we needed to finish this quickly, so I did", stated Don with slight sarcasm in his voice.

With a slight annoyance to Don, Roger threw the Pokéball towards the Mankey, who was transformed into red energy and absorbed into the orb upon impact. The Pokéball then landed on top of a garbage bag and began shaking, Roger knowing the reason being that the Mankey was struggling to break free.

As the Pokéball continued to shake, he began to worry that Don had to fight it again here in the urban area. Tommy had told him once that battling a wild Pokémon in a populated area was a serious matter compared to in the wilds. If any major damage was being done, the trainers were most of the time being held responsible for that and had to pay for the damage. But his worry was soon proved to be unnecessary, as the Pokéball finally stopped moving and gave a 'Ping' to confirm the capture.

The moment it happened, Roger couldn't help but feel happy inside. He had caught his very first Pokémon with Don's help. He could now finally consider himself a fully fledged Pokémon trainer with his own Pokémon without having to rely on Don.

"We did it… we did it. WE DID IT!", Roger couldn't help but cheer out loud as he ran towards Don and gave him a massive hug.

"S-stop that! You're *cough* choking the air out of me!", said Don while attempting to break free. Even so, Don himself was visibly smiling at the outcome.

"Right, sorry about that", Roger chuckled and let go of Don, "better get the Pokéball now from all that mess we've made."

Roger then walked over to the several toppled trashcans and bags and managed to brave the overwhelming stench that came from the mess, before picking up the Pokéball.

"We better get out of here, Don. I don't want this stench to stick with us", said Roger while holding his breath. Don agreed to Roger's decision by nodding and the two of then walked out of the alley and further into the city, towards a dome-shaped building.

***

"Harley residence, who am I speaking with?"

"Hi Tommy, it's me, Roger", Roger responded as soon as he heard his older brother's voice, who immediately turned on the monitor of the videophone on his side.

"Good to see you made it to Viridian City, little bro", Tommy smiled, "how's the journey so far?"

"Well, after we reached Vermillion City, me and Don took a horse carriage through the Diglett Cave. It took an entire day before we got to the other side, however", explained Roger.

"Makes sense. Both of you have travelled halfway across the Kanto Region before reaching Viridian City. But from here on out, you're better off using more conventional travel methods across the region if you want to progress as a trainer", stated Tommy with a serious tone at the end.

Roger nodded in agreement to what Tommy said and he had also a good point. Pokémon trainers who didn't travel on foot for the majority in their journey had a tendency not catch so many Pokémon or train them as much as others. But when he thought about catching Pokémon, Roger was reminded of what his Pokédex had said to him earlier.

"Hey Tommy, do you have an idea why my Pokédex said that I wasn't allowed to catch a Mankey, even though I did that? After all, it almost caused some damage to the area until I caught it."

"You caught a Mankey? Well done Roger", praised Tommy, who seemly ignored Roger's question, much to the latter's confusion. "How is it and Don doing?"

"They are doing fine, Tommy. They are currently being treated by the doctors in the Pokémon Center and it has been a couple of hours now. But anyway, why are you ignoring my question earlier?", asked Roger in a more serious tone, but his older brother seemed hesitant to say anything.

"It's… it's not that easy for me to say, Roger", explained Tommy while looking away from the screen. Roger didn't liked it, his older brother was hiding something and refused to say anything on the matter. It was as if he was bound to not say anything.

"But enough about that, Roger. You need to know something", Tommy once again faced the screen with an unusual mix of sad and frustrated impression on his face. "Rose has run away from her home."

"Wha… WHAT?!", Roger shouted in shock, so loud in fact several people around him turned around to look what was going on. Feeling the multiple stares aimed at him, he couldn't do much but pull down his fedora in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"Don't sweat it, I know what you're going through at the moment", said Tommy, looking somewhat tired. "At any rate, this only complicates things with Rose's dad."

"Lemme guess… You would have better results talking with a door…", Roger said while pulling his fedora back up.

"You got it… Mr. Anderson now refuses to even talk with mom right now, which is quite the feat I might add", said Tommy while leaning his head on his right arm. "To be honest, I can understand little Rose running away. I myself would've been fed up with him after what he did two days ago. At any rate Roger, I want you to keep an eye out for Rose. No doubt she is looking for you somewhere in Kanto."

"You can count on that, Tommy", said Roger with a serious expression. Rose was now alone somewhere in Kanto, most likely without a Pokémon to protect her. However, if his guess were correct, she would be heading towards one, possible location in Kanto.

"Good to know, little bro. Take care of yourself now", said Tommy with a smile.

"I will, Tommy. And thanks for telling me about Rose, I'll keep an eye out for her", stated Roger with confidence in his expression as he ended their conversation by turning the video phone off.

***

As Tommy turned off the videophone, he couldn't help but feel guilty. He should've known that Roger would break the rules as soon as possible without as much as thinking about the consequences. And now his little brother would suffer for it, simple because he didn't tell Roger the truth. And when thought about it, he should've explained the situation just now so Roger at least was prepared for it.

As much as he hated it, they was only one way to help his little brother out of this predicament. He took out his cellphone instead of the videophone, because he didn't want his mother to find out who he phoned to, and dialed in a number.

"Equality Customer Support. How can I be of service?"

***

"How was the check-up?", Roger asked the doctor, who held the Mankey's Pokéball, as he and Don left the clinic.

"Don here is fully healed from his injuries, and your Mankey only suffered a head injury, so he's good to go now", explained the doctor as he handed over the Pokéball. Roger thanked the doctor and walked towards the middle of the hall alongside Don, who seemed more than happy to have his check-up over with.

"Feels great not having to do health check-ups anymore", Don almost whistled in joy.

"I guess so", said Roger nonchalant as he looked around the great hall in the Pokémon Center. When he first entered the already impressive-looking, dome-shaped building that was the Pokémon Center, he nearly dislocated his jaw when he entered it. He never imagined that the front hall was so gigantic, that over one-hundred buildings the clinic consisted off back home on the Sevii Islands could easily fit inside.

Most of the center of the hall had several couches and tables for visitors, while at the walls there were multiple desks for pharmacies and for accepting new patients and doctors and nurses were there to accept them. And despite Viridian City not being the biggest town, there were many trainers, breeders and everything in between who specialized in some ways in Pokémon in the building, with many of their Pokémon he both recognized, and was unfamiliar with.

But after the conversation with brother about Rose, Roger wasn't interested in anything around him. Even though he was certain she was fine, Roger couldn't help but worry about Rose. At any rate, they would have to figure out this problem she had now made once they were reunited.

"Hey, you even listening?", Roger suddenly heard Don saying to him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that. I was thinking about something", Roger snapped back to reality.

"About what? I know you phoned home to your family while me and that fur ball were being treated, so I'll bet you learned something back home", said Don with a stern look, causing Roger to sigh.

"Nothing gets around you, huh? Alright, I'll explain outside."

Roger and Don walked outside the Pokémon Center and after they made sure no one was looking or within hearing range, as people would think that understanding and talking to a Pokémon would be suspicious, Roger started explaining Don what he had heard from Tommy. After he finishing several minutes of explaining, Don shook his head in frustration.

"And here I thought things couldn't get any worse for you", said Don in disbelief.

"I have to agree with you there. But I can also understand Rose for making that decision. At least I have an idea where she's heading", stated Roger as he looked towards the north. If Don had an eyebrow, he would've raised one as he looked at the direction Roger was looking at.

"Pewter City? What makes you think she's heading for that direction?", asked Don.

"Most new trainers head for Pewter City to get their first badge. Tommy told me about that once", said Roger to Don before continuing. "And since Rose's dad works at the Battle Tower located in the Sevii Islands, she's bound to have heard about that."

"You've actually made your homework, Roger. I guess there's more to you islanders than meets the eye", Don grinned while he chuckled.

"Hey hey hey hey hey, that's uncalled for!", said Roger tough he couldn't help but to chuckle a bit himself. However, they were both interrupted by some cries and shouting nearby. Wondering what it was, both Roger and Don ran towards where all the noise came from.

They soon located a large crowd that was surrounding one of the Pokémon Center's battlefields. Both of them pushed their way into the middle and saw for themselves a horrible sight. Multiple Pokémon of all sizes and species were lying battered and broken, some even bleeding.

"Wh… what have happened here?", muttered Roger in shock. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't move his eyes from the horrendous sight, even while a half a dozen Pokémon trainers ran over to try and help their Pokémon.

"Roger, look around you. Look at the crowd", Don said, finally getting Roger's attention away from the battlefield. He looked around and saw that some people stared at the sight in disbelief, others looked away in disgusts and finally, some were even crying, as if they were traumatized by the very sight and had to be comforted by other people near them. Roger then finally noticed a black-haired boy at his age looking furious and taking a step forward towards the battlefield.

"You bastard! What the hell do you think you have done?!", shouted the boy in anger towards another boy standing in the middle of the field.

It was first now that Roger noticed that person, who had spiky, reddish brown hair on his head. He was wearing a black polo shirt that had a collar around the neck, partially covering a tear-shaped necklace. He was wearing a purple sweatband on each wrist, with one of the hands holding a Pokéball of some kind, and on his legs was a pair of loose, purple trousers with large pockets, one on each side, and a pair of black shoes on his feet. Lastly, he had around his waist a belt pack, where he had just placed his Pokéball in before looking towards the boy who had just shouted before with an annoyed impression on his face.

"Oh shut up already. Or are you really going to provoke me into doing what I had just done to their Pokémon?", asked the boy in a threatening tone while the injured Pokémon from before were carried away by their trainers into the Pokémon Center. Even though he didn't look directly towards the black-haired boy, Roger could hear and sense that the brown-haired one meant business, as did the black-haired one since he took several steps back while sweating bullets. Likewise, several people in the crowd looked frightened by the few words the boy had said.

"How many times do I have to tell you already? Do you guys really forget that easily what the laws of Equality are?", said the brown-haired boy with a louder voice. No one said anything, no one wanted answer that question. Roger could see the fear and frustration in several people's eyes just from listening to that question.

But who or what was Equality? This was the first time he ever heard about that name, so he simply kept quiet and hoped to learn more.

"Law Number One! Every Pokémon trainer, breeder and coordinators alike has the right of equal distribution of battles won and lost", said the boy loud and clear. The boy paused for a moment before continuing with a gleeful smile. "Of course, in order to maintain that equal right, each of your Pokédexes shall determine the outcome of your battles beforehand."

Roger's blood froze for a second the moment he mentioned the Pokédex. Could the earlier event today have something to do with this? But before he could finish thinking, the brown-haired boy continued.

"Law Number Two! In order to maintain equality among each Pokémon trainer, breeder and coordinator, they will receive permission if they are allowed to catch a wild Pokémon or not."

Roger's eyes widened when he heard that and realized that he broke that law. What's more, his Pokédex told him not to catch Mankey, and if it was connected to this "Equality", they probably already about it. He looked at Don for a moment, who likewise looked back at him. There was no doubt both he and Don knew what this could mean.

"Roger, we better get outta h-"

"Law Number Three!", shouted the brown-haired boy, interrupting Don in the process. "Should any of the laws be broken, an Administrator, which as it happens, I am, will be sent out to confront the lawbreaker and face him or her in battle, remove their Pokémon from their possession or, if the lawbreaker has broken the laws multiple times, remove their rights as Pokémon trainer, coordinator or breeder permanently."

There were an utter silence in the air after his speech was finished. More than ever, after hearing the final law, Roger and knew they had to get out of here. But as they prepared to leave, a ringing cellphone was heard. They turned around and saw the brown-haired boy pick up from his pocket his cellphone before pressing a button.

"Yes, this is Blue. Yes… hm… yes… another lawbreaker around here? A ten year old one with a Squirtle? Yeah, I know what to do", said the boy before placing his phone back into his pocket. "Alrighty then, looks like we have a newbie around here. And with a Squirtle to boot. You might as well come out before I get nasty."

Somewhere inside of himself, Roger felt relieved that his signature didn't match to whoever this Blue was looking for. But when he saw on the other side of the field that some of the crowd were trying to force someone towards the battlefield. Soon, he saw a frightened, ten year-old boy with short, blond hair who was carrying an equally frightened Squirtle wearing a small firefighter helmet in his hands. The sight shocked Roger even more than the bloodied Pokémon from before. Here and now, he saw some people who were more than willing to place a frightened boy and his Pokémon, just to save their own skins.

"Ooooh? Looks like someone took the shortest straw here…", said Blue with smile of satisfaction before walking towards the boy. "Listen carefully, there's two way out of this. The easy way, or the very hard way! Your choice."

Seeing the boy becoming even more frightened spurred Roger into moving back towards the field and walking towards Blue, with a disbelieving Don looking at him in shock.

"That's enough already! Why do you go so far to bully that boy?!", Roger almost shouted in anger, catching Blue's and everyone else's attention. Blue himself stopped walking and turned around to face Roger, who now stood in the middle of the field.

"Bully? I'm merely doing my job here as an Administrator from Equality", said Blue with a slightly amused face.

"Even if he's just a ten year old kid?", asked Roger in a serious tone. He didn't liked the looks that were given to him from the crowd. Some were filled with shock, others with disbelief of what they were seeing while the rest simply refused to look at him, perhaps out of fear. But for the moment, he ignored them and focused only on Blue.

"Hey, I'm just using the tools that I can use to meet the result, ok? If you got a better suggestion, I'm all ears", said Blue while shaking his head.

"Then let me battle you in that boy's stead. I'll take on whatever you got", said a determined Roger, followed by the shocked crowd around him whispering and talking like mad from what he had said. Blue, however, seemed intrigued by that statement instead of being shocked like the rest of the crowd.

"Then what are we waiting for?", asked Blue.

 

[Flaze]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 3 is up (finally))

Well I enjoyed this chapter very much, part of the reason why I enjoyed it though was because of the mysteries that popped up into this chapter as well as the ones that were answered. The whole concept of Equality is a really interesting idea because it kind of plays out on how things go in the games with how trainers fight and win and lose.

I really enjoyed dialogue between Don and Roger in this chapter, I thought it was really interesting plus we were able to learn a bit more about Don' s trainer...or should I say we didn't really learn much at all instead xD it'll be fun to see how they find her. Also I like the little spin you gave to Blue by turning him into an antagonist and on that note does this take place during or after the games? cause if it does then I wonder if the gymleaders all have the same job as Blue.

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 3 is up (finally))

Well I enjoyed this chapter very much, part of the reason why I enjoyed it though was because of the mysteries that popped up into this chapter as well as the ones that were answered. The whole concept of Equality is a really interesting idea because it kind of plays out on how things go in the games with how trainers fight and win and lose.

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter very much, I myself had a lot of fun writing it. And yeah, the idea of Equality would make sense in the games

I really enjoyed dialogue between Don and Roger in this chapter, I thought it was really interesting plus we were able to learn a bit more about Don' s trainer...or should I say we didn't really learn much at all instead xD it'll be fun to see how they find her. Also I like the little spin you gave to Blue by turning him into an antagonist and on that note does this take place during or after the games? cause if it does then I wonder if the gymleaders all have the same job as Blue.

I'm glad you liked the dialog between Don and Roger. Considering that interactions between a human and a Pokémon is normally limited, Roger's ability to understand him allows a little more freedom in writing, so hopefully i can make more enjoyable interactions between them. As for Don's trainer, yeah, we really didn't learn much of her XD, but what's the fun of revealing everything early on?

I wanted to give Blue a more antagonistic role than the one he had in the games, so I'm happy you liked the result. As for your question, the story here takes place during the games, but you'll get to see the gym leaders in a more unique way than you may have experienced them in the games. In short, they have a bit more active role in this fic.

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 3 is up (finally))

@some colour no doubt;, @Flaze;

The next chapter Flames of a Revolutionary is now up, let's hope I can post from now on in regular stages XD. As a quick reminder, if you haven't read it yet, I recommend you read A Maiden's Decision, a one-shot about Rose the events of the first chapter. With that out of the way, I hope you'll enjoy reading chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Equality, Part 2

There was an tense atmosphere around the battlefield at the Pokémon Center. No one in the crowd could believe that Roger had challenged an Equality Administrator in a young boy's stead. And judging from all of the whispering going around, they didn't think he stood a chance either.

"What the heck is he thinking?"

"He's so screwed…"

"Great, we got another one who thinks he's a hero."

And from his own point of view, he agreed with them. He probably never stood a stance against Blue to begin with. But after seeing the ten year old boy being forced to face Blue, as well as being tormented by him, Roger couldn't help but act. Seeing the boy watching from the sidelines still being somewhat startled by the whole event, he didn't regret his decision.

"Roger, you may be an island kid, but you're also one goddamn idiot!", Roger suddenly heard a familiar voice next to him. He looked down and saw Don standing next to him.

"Hey Don. I thought you already hightailed it outta here", whispered Roger to Don with a smile to prevent anyone from trying to hear them.

"Well someone has to drag you out once you have been beaten to a pulp", stated Don with crossed arms while not even trying his dissatisfaction of the situation, something which Roger could clearly hear from the tone of his voice. "One thing I don't understand Roger, and that is the reason why you're taking the beating in that kid's stead."

"No special reason. I just didn't like the way the kid was being treated", explained Roger while he looked over to the other side of the field, where Blue was currently standing with a smirk on his face.

"You humans are weird beings. In the wilds, I would've just left another Pokémon to become victim of a predator in order to save my own tail. The other humans who pushed that kid towards the field are no different. You had your chance, yet you blew it?", said Don with some disbelief in his tone. Roger didn't say anything straight away, as he was too busy finding Mankey's Pokéball. When he did find it and placed his hand around it, he looked back at Don, who were expecting an answer of some kind.

"I guess I'm just the odd one out", said Roger before looking back at Blue, not being able to think of a better answer. But for the time being, he had to focus on the battle he was going to get.

"Before we begin, I suggest we each tell our names. However, don't bother telling your last name as I always forgets them", said Blue with a confident look on his face. "You probably already heard my name beforehand, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. My name is Blue Oak. Yours?"

"It's Roger, Roger Harley", he said, ignoring Blue's statement of not remembering his last name and not wishing fall straight into his game before the battle had even begun. As he saw Blue taking out his Pokéball from his belt pack, Roger prepared himself to take out Mankey's Pokéball in response.

"Let me give you a warning. Since you have decided to take the fall for the young boy over there", said Blue while tilting his head towards the boy in question, "then I'm going to be a bit rough in order to make an example out of you instead."

With that, he threw the Pokéball into the air, releasing a white, energy-like substance that formed on the ground into a being that resembled a Squirtle, only twice the size of its pre-evolved form . The bipedal, indigo-blue turtle had a long, furry tail sticking out of the rear end of its brown shell and on its head were also a pair of long, furry ears. Two small fangs protruded out from its mouth, its eyes that had brown irises were filled with confidence and small, oval-shaped spots were located underneath the eyes. Lastly, there were three sharp claws on each arm that looked more than ready to rip anything to shreds.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you already got some cold feet after seeing Poseidon here?", Blue almost grinned when he asked in a mocking tone.

"Nah, I'm just thinking about the best way to kick your Pokémon's ass", Roger countered the mocking, something which caused the crowd to either gasp or whisper even more to each others. Blue and his Wartortle on the other hand, laughed uncontrollably from what Roger had just said, much to his surprise.

"This is pure gold! This is the first time someone ever dared to say that towards an Administrator like me!", Blue struggled to say while continuing to laugh. "You have guts Roger, and I respect you for that. But let's put the small talk aside and start the battle."

"If you say so", said Roger, somewhat disappointed that his bravado didn't shake Blue up as much as he had hoped. He looked back at Don and knew he couldn't rely on him to get out of this situation. After all, they had agreed that Don would only help him with the capture of Mankey and no more. Instead, he disconnected Mankey's Pokéball from its holder on his belt and threw it into the air. Just like Blue's Pokéball, it released a white, energy-like substance that formed into Mankey.

This would be Roger's first battle with the Mankey, so he had to be careful about it. After all, he had just caught it and there was no guarantee that he would obey Roger during the battle.

"You ready to fight, Mankey?", Roger asked the Mankey, who in response raised his arms into the air and roared proudly. Roger felt relieved that Mankey was more than willing to fight against Blue, but his thoughts were interrupted by Don.

"If you ask me, the only reason that fur ball is listening to you is because of the chance of facing a strong opponent. At least, that's the impression I get from the fur ball", stated Don with indifference in his voice, but Roger didn't mind that. If it meant that Mankey was willing to listen to him because of a strong opponent, he welcomed that in this particular battle.

"Let's begin with a Karate Chop, Mankey!", said Roger to Mankey, who started running towards Poseidon with one raised arm high into the air.

"Withdraw into your shell, Poseidon", Blue calmly said, followed by Poseidon withdrawing his head and limbs into its shell, with only a small bit of the tail sticking out. When Mankey hit the shell by slamming down his raised arm, not even a scratch were made from the attack, much to the surprise of Roger and Mankey. Roger had to think quickly of a way to break Poseidon's defense and got an idea.

"Mankey, withdraw from your opponent and use Focus Energy!", Roger said to Mankey, who quickly complied. After having jumped a few meters away from Poseidon, the Mankey closes his eyes and his fur began to move upwards from all of the energy he was gathering. If Roger's plan worked, the energy Mankey was gathering would give a power boost just enough to that even Poseidon's shell couldn't protect it. But Roger then noticed that Blue was smiling and knew that wasn't a good sign.

"Poseidon, Rapid Spin!", Blue shouted. Poseidon, who was still inside of its shell, started spin around at high speed and flew towards Mankey.

"Mankey, get out of your trance and use Low kick against Poseidon!", Roger shouted in panic to his Pokémon. Fortunately, Mankey quickly got of his trance and started to make a kick against Poseidon. However, the turtle Pokémon simply flew above the kick and proceeded to make a U-turn in the air, hitting Mankey in the back and catching both Roger and Mankey by surprise.

"Don't think such a simple tactic will work against me, pal!", Blue mocked Roger once more while Poseidon continued to hit Mankey from all angles with Rapid Spin.

"Stop the attack, Mankey!", Roger shouted to Mankey, who quickly proceeded to use his arms to block Poseidon's still spinning shell by grapping it. Unfortunately, the Rapid Spin attack was undeterred and continued to spin in Mankey's hands, eventually freeing Poseidon and causing the pig monkey Pokémon to lose his balance. The turtle Pokémon proceeded to exit its shell and land in front of the collapsed Mankey.

"Go and use Seismic Toss, Poseidon", said Blue once again in a calm tone, followed by Poseidon grapping Mankey's body and jumped far up into the air. They eventually stopped high in the air and started to fall heads first into the field, causing it to explode in a geyser of dirt and dust.

Roger, Don and everyone in the crowd had to cover themselves for a moment as the dust reached them. When the dust finally settled, Roger saw to his dismay that Mankey was lying unconscious in a small crater while Poseidon was inside his shell, having apparently softened the impact with it. As he saw the turtle reappearing from its shell, he couldn't help but feel the crowd staring at him in complete silence and he didn't like it.

When Roger thought about it, Blue and Poseidon were a bit rough in this battle, but not enough for Mankey's wounds to be as serious as the other Pokémon trainer's Pokémon from before. As he wondered why, he took out Mankey's Pokéball and prepared to recall him. However, as he tried to, the Pokéball didn't react at his command, much to his surprise.

"There is a good reason why most Pokémon who has faced an Administrator gets more injured than in other battles", Blue calmly stated as he saw Roger in futile trying to recall his Mankey.

"We Administrators can and will decide when you can recall your Pokémon. Usually, the injuries happens during the battles, but there are exceptions such as now", he said with sinister smile on his face, which Roger couldn't help but shudder at when he realized the situation. "Knock yourself out, Poseidon."

Before Roger could even react, he saw Mankey being pummeled by Poseidon's Rapid Spin attacks once again, despite already being unconscious and the battle already being over. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was how the Pokémon from before got so severely injured; none of their trainers were able to recall them and Blue and his Pokémon were given free reign of attacking them, even if the battles were already over.

The crowd around looked horrified at seeing the brutality once more, many of them looking away, the ten year old boy among them, while others continued to look on, but a horrified expression on them. When Roger took a closer look, he could see in their eyes that there were fear, powerlessness, frustration and emptiness. Had Equality such an effect on everyone?

When Roger looked back at Don, he saw that this was the first time Don had reacted for the duration of the battle. He expressed shock and anger over the situation, so much in fact that Roger could see he had trouble controlling himself based on his growling and shaking fist.

Roger then looked back at Mankey, who had finally woken up, but had trouble dodging Poseidon's brutal attacks. When he saw the pig monkey Pokémon took a wrong step and fell down because of the injuries he acquired while being attacked, followed by the turtle Pokémon charging up a more powerful Rapid Spin while Blue was still making a sinister smile of the scene, something stirred inside Roger. Was it anger? Or fear of what could happen to Mankey? Whatever it was, it made him run towards Mankey and block the way for Poseidon's attack. Before anyone could react, he was hit in the stomach by the attack and sent rolling past Mankey while clutching his stomach in pain.

When he eventually stopped rolling like a ragdoll, Roger gasped after the air that was knocked out of him when he got hit. Even when he felt the feather he was wearing around his neck becoming warm and any injuries he would've gained began to heal, he could still feel the pain from the impact as he tried to stand up.

When he managed to do so, it was only now he realized how quiet it suddenly became. The moment he looked up, he saw that Blue, Don and everyone in the crowd were looking at him with shock and surprise. Even Mankey was surprised by what he had done, something which could be easily seen from its eyes, even when one of them were swollen. Seeing that he was somewhat alright, Roger couldn't help but smile at Mankey.

"Hey, you alright buddy?", asked Roger while still heavily breathing and clutching where he was hit with one arm.

"Why… why are you doing this?", Roger suddenly heard Blue asking him. He looked over and saw disbelief on Blue's face over what Roger had done.

"Do I need a reason to protect my Pokémon?", asked Roger in response with a hoarse voice. Even Blue seemed stunned by the question, though he quickly regained his composure and his smirk.

"And so what? You just broke an unwritten, golden rule in Pokémon battles, namely by interfering it yourself", he stated with a mocking tone.

"I'm sorry, since when was this a battle when you continued to attack Mankey after he fainted?", Roger returned the mocking. "Perhaps I'm not the one who broke an unwritten, golden rule here."

The crowd around them began to whisper about Roger had just said, but it was loud enough for Roger to hear what they were saying.

"How does make a point you know…"

"Well, Silver-Hairy there certainly got guts for saying that."

Blue, in the meantime, looked enraged from Roger's comment. It would seem that this was the first time someone had managed to talk back and forced him to eat his own words, but it was also at this point that Roger realized that he might've gone a bit too far this time.

"Continue attacking the Mankey, Poseidon! Water Gun!", he suddenly shouted to Poseidon, who had up until now stood completely still and watching everything unfold. When it got its orders, however, it immediately reacted by releasing a stream of water from its mouth aimed at Mankey. Despite the pain from the earlier attack, Roger immediately reacted by running and blocking the attack with his back. He was in for a shock, however, as he hadn't expected the water to be so cold, all the while enduring the stinging he felt where the water was hitting him. Even when his feather was in full work trying to keep him warm, he still felt the cold and the stinging becoming stronger.

"I'm alright, Mankey. Just make sure you avoid the attacks!", Roger quickly said to Mankey when he saw that he was worried about him. Suddenly, the water stopped hitting him in the back and before he realized why, he saw Poseidon flying past him inside of its shell. He cursed out loud as he saw the turtle approaching dangerously close to its intended target, only to see the shell and the Pokémon inside being punched away by none other than Don.

"Don! I thought you weren't willing to help!", exclaimed Roger in surprise, but Don remained silent for a few seconds before he smiled at him.

"Do I need a reason to kick someone's rear end who ticks me off?", asked Don while clenching his fist. Roger couldn't help but smile from what Don had said before turning around to face Blue. He was still quite cold from the Water Gun, but his feather was now no longer unhindered by the attack and had started to warm him up again at full strength. But none of that mattered to him now that Don was at his side; they now stood a reasonable chance against Blue and Poseidon.

Almost everyone in the crowd where once again surprised about Roger's actions, but also of Don's interference, but als wondered why they were still facing the Administrator. But he ignored it for the time being and looked over at Blue, who was visibly more than annoyed by Don's interference. Poseidon had only just now reappeared from his shell and looked a little shaken from Don's attack, but also looked angry of what had happened.

"This is beginning to be ridiculous", said Blue with annoyance in his voice. "Why are you still fighting? It's only going to get worse from here."

"I already told you, Blue. Do I need a reason to protect my Pokémon?", stated Roger.

"That doesn't change a thing, however. You don't stand a chance against me as it stands", stated Blue with an uncharacteristic tone of seriousness in his voice.

"Maybe not today, but when we've become stronger through training, then we will stand a better chance against you", stated Roger with confidence. But as he finished his sentence, both he and Don couldn't help but notice that everyone in the crowd suddenly became very quiet. Some even proceeded to look away from them.

"What's the point in training my Pokémon when the results of every battles are already decided…", a young girl broke the silence while looking down, to which Roger couldn't help but be surprised by that girl's statement.

"True. And even if we won a battle fair and square, the Administrators will be there to punish us and they are pretty much invincible…", a nearby boy around Roger's age said with a hint of shame and fear in his voice.

Roger couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had expected that at least some were against Equality, but here he stood and saw how everyone in the crowd agreed to the two's reasoning. He had already realized before this point how fearful Equality was to everyone, but that they had such an effect that broke everyone's spirits? This was a big shock for Roger, he could feel inside himself everything he had believed about trainers in the Kanto region were shaken by their statements.

"We're wasting our time. Let's get out of here", a male teenager said with disappointment. One by one, they followed the teenager's lead and left the scene, some with their heads hanging.

"H-hey! Why are you accepting this?! Why are letting them do whatever they want with you?!", Roger angrily asked as the crowd left. Only a few looked back at him, the teenager from before among them.

"Look kid, it's not like that. We're just as frustrated as you are, but what's the point in fighting a war you cannot win?", the teenager asked Roger in a somber tone. With that said, the teenager and the remaining people turned around and walked away, leaving a sad, frustrated and speechless Roger along with Mankey, Don, Blue and Poseidon alone on the battlefield.

"It seems that in the end, your efforts were a waste of time", Roger heard Blue saying, followed by a beam-like sound. He turned around and saw that Blue had recalled Poseidon into his Pokéball before placing it back into his pocket.

"I don't need to punish you anymore since you pretty much already have done it on your own", stated Blue with a smirk on his face, but also with a hint of pity in his voice. Don growled at him for the comment and Mankey followed suit. Blue ignored them, however, and walked away from the field, leaving Roger and the Pokémon the only ones left.

***

When they were finally alone on the field, Roger sat down and had a look at Mankey's wounds from the battle. While he inspected them, he couldn't help but repeat the teenager's last words inside of his head.

But what's the point in fighting a war you cannot win?

There were no doubt that something frightened the crowd and Roger had caught a glimpse of it today. The fact that Equality demanded that everyone followed their orders in battles were bad enough. But to brutally punish lawbreakers like was just so wrong to him.

"Roger, ya done inspecting fur ball yet?", asked Don, snapping Roger back to reality.

"Hm? Oh yeah, almost done!", Roger quickly said. If Don had eyebrows, one of them would have been raised by Roger's statement, but he ignored it for the time being. "Doesn't look like something the feather can't handle. Let's give it a go, shall we?"

Roger took out his fiery red feather and placed it on top of Mankey, whose wounds almost immediately began to visibly heal, particularly the swollen eye became smaller within seconds. When he had taken his feather out, Roger noticed that his body became colder again. It was also only now that he realized that he was still soaking wet from Poseidon's Water Gun. It was, however, nothing compared to the pain he felt in his heart. All he thought Pokémon training stood were shaken all the way down to its foundation.

"Did I made a fool of myself?", asked Roger in a somber tone.

"Maybe so, but you made a difference by taking that kid's place", Don reassured Roger with crossed arms. "Just don't make it a habit of leaping into danger like that, otherwise you WILL be beaten to a pulp!"

"I'll remember that from now on Don, don't worry", Roger chuckled before remembering Don's earlier statement about survival. "Wasn't it you who said that you would another Pokémon in the hands of a predator if it would save your life?"

"Well, after seeing your opponent's brutality, I'd say there are exceptions to that rule" explained Don while notably clenching his fist. "This "Equality" is rotten to the core in my opinion. I'm disgusted that they are willing to that far to maintain their laws."

"You're not the only one, Don", said Roger while he inspected Mankey's wounds being healed. "I'm disgusted as well and I bet the crowd were as well. They just too frightened to express that."

"They behave like the omega of a pack, afraid to do anything that would upset their leader, constantly trying to avoid trouble like cowards. No offense, but I find myself even more disgusted by them", stated Don without hiding his dissatisfaction. Roger didn't comment on that, but he disagreed with Don somewhat. It was true that they behaved like cowards, but after the battle with Blue, he understood what they were afraid of.

"Looks like you've fully recovered, Mankey", said Roger when he noticed that the wounds was fully healed. As Roger took back his feather, the Mankey tried to move his appendages and was so delighted of the injuries gone that he jumped and danced around Roger and Don.

"Someone sure is in a awfully good mood", said Don with mild annoyance before he seemed to have noticed something. "Roger, look behind you. That kid from earlier is here."

Sure enough, when Roger looked behind himself, he saw the ten year old boy and his Squirtle from before. Either he hadn't noticed that he was still there, or the boy and his Pokémon had returned to the battlefield at some point. It wasn't until now that Roger noticed that the blond boy was wearing a red t-shirt with a firefighter's axe and helmet as a design on the front, a pair of sand-colored trousers, white sneakers and a multi-colored messenger bag hanging on one of his shoulders.

While it resembled a Wartortle, the Squirtle next to him was half the size of one, didn't possess furry ears and the tail resembled more like a squirrel's tail. Its arms didn't possess the sharp claws a Wartortle would have. Instead, there were three small fingers on each arms. What stood out for the Squirtle was the firefighting helmet it was wearing on top of its head.

When Roger had noticed them, the boy and his Squirtle walked towards them and both seemed a bit nervous. Even when the boy and the Squirlte stopped in front of Roger, Don and Mankey, it took a while before the boy finally talked.

"I-I just wanted to say thank you for helping me", the boy said somewhat nervously. Roger was at first surprised, but then couldn't help but smile. He was happy that at least the boy were grateful for what he had done.

"You're welcome", said Roger while he stood up again. "What's your name by the way?"

"I'm John McCoy and this is my Squirtle, Halligan", said the boy in a slightly less nervous tone, followed by the Squirtle greeting them as well.

"I'm Roger Harley and this is Don the Charmeleon and Mankey here. Nice to meet you", Roger greeted John alongside Don and Mankey and started shaking hands with him.

I guess I didn't made myself a complete fool after all, Roger happily thought to himself.

 

[Flaze]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 4 is up)

John McCoy huh? now I wonder who he got his name from.

Well I originally thought Don was actually going to step up and battle Blue xD so I was kind of disappointed to see that that didn't happen but I digress. This chapter clearly showed the level of skill that separates our young hero from Blue the Administrator and it kind of sets a bar to how the other Administrators could be as well, and I'm pretty sure Blue isn't even among the strongest at least in my opinion.

It also showed a bit more about how the world actually reacts to things, where trainers will just let ohters do what they want because they have a bit of authority, it showed how unfair Equality can actually be. However with this in mind I also liked what you did with the crowd, having them not agree with Roger and just walk away is more realistic than them banding in with him; especially after he lost the fight to begin with.

One thing I would like to see is the other side of the spectrum though, we've seen how bad Equality can be, but I believe that this still makes things more black and white, I think that it'd be better if you add some shades of gray in there too so how about showing people who actually benefitted from Equality in a way but that also have to learn to fend for themselves, for example, a trainer who's not skilled and has weak Pokemon has been able to enter a winning streak thanks to it but due to that he's given up on training his Pokemon.

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 4 is up)

John McCoy huh? now I wonder who he got his name from.

The name just popped up for me, so I thought "why not?"

Well I originally thought Don was actually going to step up and battle Blue xD so I was kind of disappointed to see that that didn't happen but I digress. This chapter clearly showed the level of skill that separates our young hero from Blue the Administrator and it kind of sets a bar to how the other Administrators could be as well, and I'm pretty sure Blue isn't even among the strongest at least in my opinion.

The agreement of how much Don was willing to help Roger still applied here, so that is why he didn't interfere with the battle until Blue and Poseidon began to brutally attack Mankey, even though the outcome had already been decided. The fact that he interfered in the last moment, however, shows that he's willing to bend that agreement a little if something happens that doesn't agree with him.
As for the difference in skill between Roger and Blue and other Administrators, yes, the Administrators are very powerful compared Roger at the moment and that was my goal to show that in this chapter. I'm also planning to show other Administrators throughout the story, so expect some more action with them.

It also showed a bit more about how the world actually reacts to things, where trainers will just let ohters do what they want because they have a bit of authority, it showed how unfair Equality can actually be. However with this in mind I also liked what you did with the crowd, having them not agree with Roger and just walk away is more realistic than them banding in with him; especially after he lost the fight to begin with.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked that. Compared to Roger, the crowd have experienced much more when it comes to Equality, so they are of course not so willing to oppose them as Roger was here.

One thing I would like to see is the other side of the spectrum though, we've seen how bad Equality can be, but I believe that this still makes things more black and white, I think that it'd be better if you add some shades of gray in there too so how about showing people who actually benefitted from Equality in a way but that also have to learn to fend for themselves, for example, a trainer who's not skilled and has weak Pokemon has been able to enter a winning streak thanks to it but due to that he's given up on training his Pokemon.

That's a good point you're making there. I remember that I thought about that at one point, but I must've forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me about it.

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Re: Flames of a Revolutionary (chapter 4 is up)

@some colour no doubt;, @Flaze;

First off, an apology for the delay of this chapter. Had a writer's block during July.

A minor spoiler in the spoiler, but it has something to do with this chapter, just so you know.

Spoiler

In this chapter, there will be parts that is seen from Don's perspective, so I decided not to write his sentences like what you're seeing here. If it confuses you or something, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Chapter 5: The forest, the amigo and the girl

Several hours had passed since the battle between Roger and Blue, an Administrator from Equality. Roger had rented a room in the Pokémon Center in the meantime and had hanged the clothes that got wet from the battle inside the bathroom in order to dry it. While waiting for it to dry, he had changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts he had packed in his backpack in reserve. Don was also in the room and was currently sitting on a fireproof blanket provided by the Pokémon Center and Mankey, who seemed somewhat frustrated about the confined space the room provided, was sitting near him.

"It can't be helped, Mankey. I can't travel with clothes that are wet, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow where they're hopefully dry", stated Roger to the dissatisfied Mankey, who simply turned his face away from Roger in annoyance.

"It's annoying, but since my flames are too strong for something as simple as drying clothes, this is the best way without risking it to burn up", said Don.

"You're… speaking from experience, aren't ya?", Roger somewhat nervously asked Don.

"Yep~", Don answered while whistling.

Now happy that he hadn't asked Don to help dry his clothes, Roger walked over and sat on a nearby chair and started to look at the open guidebook placed on the table. He had bought the guidebook when he first rented the room since he thought that it could useful while travelling.

While looking through the different pages, he eventually spotted a map of Viridian City and the area around it, which included Viridian Forest to the north and the open plain between the city and the forest.

"Wow, Viridian Forest sure is big. Probably around the size of Knot Island!", said Roger in surprise. Just then, Don walked over and jumped up on top of the chair next to Roger and had a look at the map as well.

"Why go through the forest for a single badge in Pewter City, when there's one here?", said Don while pointing at an area of map of Viridian City, which the word, "Gym", were at.

"Did you miss the requirements for challenging the local gym just below?" asked Roger while pointing at location of the map where the gym was. "It says here: "Requirement to challenge Viridian Gym: six gym badges or more"."

"Oh…. Yeah, that complicates things", admitted Don when he realized his mistake.

"But here's the beauty. Pewter City's gym is the closest one from where we are, and it doesn't have any badge requirement at all", said Roger with a smile.

"For an island kid, you certainly knows a lot, Roger" Don complimented Roger.

"Thanks. I guess it comes with the territory", remarked Roger before realizing something. "You know, that's not the only thing that I should've known about."

"What do you mean?", asked Don.

"Tommy, my brother, works in the Pokémon League, and yet he didn't tell me anything at all. He's bound to have known about Equality", said Roger. Don seemed quite surprised by that statement but quickly regained his composure.

"It makes sense, actually. But that would imply that your brother is at least a -", Don was suddenly interrupted by the door being knocked at from the outside.

"Hello? Are you there, Roger?", Roger recognized the muffled voice belonging to John, the boy he helped earlier the same day.

"We'll talk about this at another point in time. It's better off that no one else know about this", Roger hastily said Don before standing up and walking towards the door. "Coming!"

As Roger opened the door, he saw John and his Squirtle, Halligan, standing in front of him, with John once again looking somewhat nervous for some reason.

"Hey there, John. Is something the matter?", asked Roger as he welcomed the boy and the Squirtle inside.

"You've done a lot for me and Halligan today, and I don't want to be a nuisance to you, but uh…", John seemed to struggle to say something.

"Go on", Roger encourage the young boy as he sat on his chair, followed by John sitting on another opposite to Roger.

"Well… I wish for someone to travel with through Viridian Forest to Pewter City, and I was wondering if you could travel with me. I don't have enough confidence to travel through it on my own", said John with Halligan nodding in confirmation. Both Roger and Don looked at each other wryly, having realized the coincidental circumstances.

"We're actually also going to Pewter City. So yeah, I don't see an issue with us travelling together", stated Roger. The moment he said that, John's face brightened up as he jumped up from his chair and ran over to Roger and gave him a hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you! I didn't know what to do if you said no!", Roger, who was taken by surprise, couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Alright, we'll meet outside the Pokémon Center tomorrow morning and then travel through Viridian Forest", stated Roger with a smile as John let go of him. "No slaking off, got it?"

"Got it!", said John in eagerness.

***

"Roger, you still awake?", Roger heard a faint voice in the distance.

"Barely…", responded Roger with some reluctance. After turning on the light, Roger saw to his dismay that the clock showed that it was still in the middle of the night. "You better have a good reason to wake me up right now…"

"Sorry, I only just want to talk with you about something" stated Don. He had difficulty to see it, but Roger was certain that something weighed heavily on Don.

"Ugh… Alright then, but you better be quick. The express train to dreamland is about to *yawn* arrive", yawned Roger.

"OK then, I'll try.", said Don before taking a deep breath. "It's about John, the boy who earlier asked about travelling with us."

"What about it…", asked Roger in a half-asleep state.

"It's about the fact that you're able to speak and understand with me. What should we do about it? It's not like we can openly talk with each other, not like with your family or Rose", stated Don. He had a point. John was completely unaware about Roger's ability to speak and understand what Don was saying. And they did talk about it earlier; the less people who knows about it, the better.

"We'll figure it out along the way, Don. In the meantime, let's just be quiet around John as much as we can…", said Roger in drowsy state.

"One last thing. Since we're entering a bug-infested forest, you'll need to know this. Even the smallest larva is part of a hive , so we need to watch ourselves while walking through the forest and make sure they don't warn other of their kinds about us", stated Don on a serious note.

"Got it…", Roger barely registered what Don had said before quickly falling asleep.

***

The next morning, Roger was once wearing his old clothes after they had dried out. Just after they had eaten breakfast, he and Don met John and Halligan once more just outside the entrance of the Pokémon Center as promised, and they immediately headed out for Viridian Forest to the north. Along the way, he and John talked with each other with just
about everything.

"So your dad is a firefighter, huh? That explains Halligan's helmet and your t-shirt", remarked Roger.

"Yeah, he's been that for my entire life. He's a hero to me!", said John with an obvious pride put into his words.

"So where do you come from, anyway?", Roger quickly changed the subject, it got a bit uncomfortable for him.

"Cerulean City, it lies just east of Mount Moon and it's not too far away from the ocean", explained John. "What about you, Roger? Where are you from?"

"Me? I've lived on Knot Island in the Sevii Islands for my entire life, so my home is practically surrounded by seawater", said Roger.

"You live on an Island in the middle of the sea? How cool is that!", said John in excitement and admiration.

"Ah, come on. It's nothing special, really", Roger tried to quell John's excitement.

Before an hour and a half had passed since they left Viridian City, they had reached the forest, where most of them came to a realization.

"OK, I knew this forest was big, but I didn't expect it to be this dense!", said Roger with a raised eyebrow as he looked into the forest. He couldn't even look ten meters into the forest before his vision stopped.

"I-I have to admit, this is the first time I've been here", stated John nervously, with Halligan hiding behind his trainer's back.

"How did you get to Viridian City, then?", asked Roger.

"I was driven to Pallet Town by my dad in his car, so we never got near the forest", explained John, which Halligan confirmed by frantically nodding, causing his helmet to almost fall off.

In the meantime, Roger noticed that Don was looking at a nearby sign. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked over to read what it said.

WARNING
VIRIDIAN FOREST IS HEAVILY INHABITED BY BUG POKÉMON
FOLLOW THE MARKED PATH AND DO NOT LEAVE IT​

"That pretty much spell things out", remarked Roger. By this point, he had expected a sarcastic response from Don. But he was completely quiet for once. "Something the matter, Don?"

"Nothing", said Don quickly before walking into the forest.

"What's with Don?", asked John.

"Beats me. Anyway, no time to stand here, otherwise he'll leave us behind", said Roger before he too started walking into the forest, followed by John and Halligan.

After catching up with Don, they all ventured deeper into the forest while following some planted flags acting as guides. The sunlight had difficulty reaching the surface, but that wasn't the first thing Roger noticed, however. He could smell and taste the moisture in the air, hear some buzzing far away somewhere in the forest and noticed as well as the wind gently rustling the leaves. He had once been in a forest in one of the Sevii Islands, but this felt different, much more alive. After his disappointment with how Viridian City looked like, he began to appreciate the Kanto region and its differences to his home islands.

John, however, seemed to be in different thoughts, and Roger had an idea what it could be.

"Is the situation with Blue yesterday still bothering you?", asked Roger, which John jumped in response to the question, apparently not expecting it.

"Y-yeah, it does…", admitted John. "He must have went for me because I caught a Spearow, even though my Pokédex said I wasn't allowed to do it."

John seemed ashamed about the subject, but Roger merely smiled in an effort to put John at ease.

"You're not the only one who unknowingly broke a rule. I did that when I caught Rampage, the Mankey", said Roger as he showed John Rampage's Pokéball.

"The same Mankey you used yesterday?", asked John.

"Yeah, I decided to name him that last night after the trouble he nearly made when Don and I fought him", explained Roger while returning the Pokéball to its spot on his belt. "What I'm saying Johnny, is that you shouldn't let others tell you what you can and cannot."

John seemed to be thinking for a moment what Roger had told him, but it wasn't long before he smiled and nodded at Roger. His happiness that John had cheered up, however, was interrupted by Don suddenly signaled all of them to stop moving.

"Something's wrong?", Roger asked nervously. He didn't like that Don's tail-flame had spontaneously increased in size the moment Don made them halt.

"We've got company and not the good kind", growled Don.

"Johnny, get close to me, now!", Roger quickly said, which John and Halligan quickly did as said. It wasn't long before several, glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness among the trees staring at them.

As their owners got closer, they could see that they were giant wasp-like Pokémon that looked none too happy about the intruders. Each one had a round head where their eyes where located, with a pair of antennas on top of them and small pointed mouths below their eyes. Of the four legs that were connected to their middle bodies, the first two legs were covered by long, conical stingers, while the other two were long, segmented and insect-like in appearance. The yellow wasps also each had two pairs of rounded and veined wings and on its striped abdomen were another, and equally dangerous-looking as the other two, stinger that were yellow.

"Of all the bugs we could encounter here, it had to be Beedrills", said Don in annoyance.

"What's the plan, Don?", asked Roger while ignoring that John and Halligan were listening. Right now, they had to focus on survival.

"Burn and run? I won't dare to face this many Beedrills on my own, especially in their home territory!", stated Don before blowing a small bit of fire in front of him.

"You don't need to", said Roger as he pulled out Rampage's Pokéball. But before they could react, the Beedrills started to charge against them, forcing Don to breathe a thick smokescreen against them. In the midst of confusion, Roger felt a claw pulling him, John and Halligan out of the smokescreen and deeper into the forest. Knowing that it was Don, Roger didn't hesitate and picked up both John and Halligan in each arm and started to run alongside Don.

"Forget burn! Just run!", shouted Don.

"You don't have to tell me twice!", exclaimed Roger while he kept running.

They didn't get far before they heard some buzzing behind them, however. Turning his head around, Roger saw that one of the Beedrills were following them.

"Don, we got company!", Roger exclaimed as the pursuing Beedrill started firing hundreds of needles, some of them purple, against them from one of its stingers.

By sheer luck or skill, Roger did not know, but he somehow managed to dodge the needles by jumping from side to side and forward as they came closer. Don did the same as well, until he saw his chance and jumped towards the Beedrill and punching it with a Fire Punch. That was more than enough to deter it from further pursuing them and it retreated back into deeper parts of the forest.

Feeling that they were safe now, Roger breathed a sigh of relief before putting down John and Halligan back down to the ground.

"Sorry if I was a bit rough there, Johnny and Halligan", said Roger while making sure they were both alright.

"No problem. I don't feel like I got hurt or anything", stated John. Despite that, Roger could see he was a little shaken, which he admittedly was as well. But when he checked if Halligan was alright, he noticed that he was somewhat wobbly and dizzy. It was then that he noticed one of the Beedrill's purple needles were embedded into Halligan's left leg.

"Johnny, I think we got a problem", said Roger to John just before Halligan collapsed, causing John to exclaim his name in shock as he quickly approached his Pokémon. Don came over as well to see what the problem were and he immediately pulled out the needle and inspected it closely.

"Poison Sting. We're going to need a Pecha berry for this", stated Don while crushing the needle in his claw.

"But we don't have any Pecha berry!", Roger whispered to Don while looking at Halligan breathing heavily and John being distressed at the situation.

"I'll go find some. In the meantime, you better see if you can find somewhere safe from those Beedrills. They might come back you know", said Don before running off into the forest. "And don't worry about me! I can easily track you by your scent!"

After seeing Don disappearing into the woods, Roger turned his attention to John, who were frantically trying to pull out something from his bag.

"Easy there, Johnny. You'll end up breaking something", Roger tried to calm John down.

"But - but - but if I don't do something, Halligan will-", was all John managed to say before breaking out in tears. Knowing only one way to comfort him in this situation, Roger moved over and hugged him.

"I'm worried for Hallie here as well, Johnny. But right now, we need to put our faith in Don that he will find something for him", Roger tried to reassure the still-crying boy. "Feeling better now?"

John nodded a little bit as they let go of each other and wiped away some of the tears.

"Good. Now let's move to somewhere safer before the Beedrill comes back", said Roger with a smile. While he didn't show it, Roger was also worried and afraid of what could happen. But right now, he had to be strong for John's and Halligan's sake.

He helped John to get back on his feet and picked up the Tiny Turtle Pokémon with both of his hands. They then started walking to the opposite route than the one Don took a few minutes ago. Roger knew that they should keep a low profile right now, but they also needed to get a bearing of where they were, especially after that blind run from the Beedrills. After all, they probably no longer could find any of those flags after running so far away.

After a few minutes of walking, they found a decent place that was somewhat sheltered. While unpacking their stuff, Roger began to think whether or not he should use his feather to heal Halligan. While it heals injuries easily, poison may be another case altogether. And it wasn't like he could ask Old Harry, since he was on Knot Island.

"Roger, why is that Weedle moving away from us so fast?", Roger suddenly heard John asking him. He turned around to where John was pointing and sure enough, a brown larva with a segemented body with a stinger on its rear end moved away from them. It briefly turned around and revealed that it had a round, pink nose, a pair of dark circular eyes and another large stinger on top of its head.

Seemly panicking from being spotted, the Weedle quickly hastened its movement as much as it could on its many, little pink feet. Seeing the little Pokémon running away, it reminded of something, but he didn't know what.

What was it Don said to me last night?, he thought to himself before he became pale as he realized what it was. "Oh, crap!", exclaimed Roger as he quickly pulled out Rampage's Pokéball.

***

Don didn't know how much time precisely had passed since he started searching for Pecha berries, but based on the position of the sun he managed to see in a hole among the trees, no more than an hour could have passed since they entered Viridian Forest. But he couldn't afford to stand still and think about it; Halligan needed a Pecha berry and fast.

"Ugh… To many scents here for me to differentiate what is what", muttered Don in annoyance. At the moment, he only found places with too many scents to differentiate from each other, so he moved in the direction he assumed was north in the hopes of picking up a scent or two coming from the berries with interferences from other scents.

While running, Don contemplated about him and Roger being able to talk with each other. As much as he hated to admit it, he was beginning to enjoy the conversations with Roger. Emily, his own trainer, was also able to understand what he was saying, but this was different. Almost like they didn't talk through their mouths and speech, but in a deeper level. He couldn't put it where and how, but that was what Don felt.

Eventually, he stopped at an open area where there weren't too many scents to pick up.

"This will do", said Don in a satisfied tone as he closed his eyes and began to focus. With a few seconds in between, he sniffed the air for any signs of Pecha berries. He did pick up a scent, but it was very weak. After walking around in a circle, however, he still couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. It was too well hidden from his nose. But there was a certain scent coming from nearby, something that smelled like a bird.

"Saludos, señor. You seem to be quite out of place", Don heard a nearby voice with a foreign accent that sounded almost too joyful.

He looked around until he spotted a very large bird sitting on a branch on a nearby tree with its powerful, pinkish gray talons. The head, which the bird held high, had a long and feathered, reddish head-crest on the forehead, which went all the way to the back of his head, a beak of the same color as the talons and black markings around his piercing eyes. He also had a colorful plumage on the tail, altering between red and yellow and the majority of the body were covered in brown feathers, while the belly, face, the inside and the tip of the wings were of a lighter color.

No matter how Don tried to twist the truth, he could both see and sense that this Pidgeotto was very powerful and also a dangerous opponent if it came to that. As he prepared himself for a possible battle, the Pidgeotto, however, simply chuckled and gently basked one of its wings as if he tried to mimic a human waving a flag.

"At ease, señor. I'm not here to fight, but to talk. It can be quite lonely at times here in this forest when there is no fiesta", the Pidgeotto said in a surprisingly somber tone before flying down next to Don, who relaxed a little bit but remained cautious. "Where are my manners? I'm called Amigo by my amigos."

"Wait, excuse me?", asked a confused Don.

"I apologize. Amigo means friend in Spanish and as it happens, it is also my name", explained Amigo. "Anyway, that is not important. I would like to know what a fire Pokémon like you are doing here, señor."

"Why should I tell you? I'm kinda busy you know", stated Don.

"Well perhaps I can help you, señor", explained Amigo. "After all, I know my way around the forest."

Seeing that he probably wouldn't get rid of Amigo in the near foreseeable future, Don relented and explained how he, Roger, John and Halligan had entered the forest and encountered some angry Beedrills, and that Halligan the Squirtle got poisoned by one of them. He also explained that since it had been discovered, he had been searching for Pecha berries without any luck. But when he told about the Pecha berries, Don couldn't help but notice that Amigo were seemly smiling.

"You're born under a star of fortune, señor, for I happen to know where to find the berries you seek", said Amigo cheerfully.

"You're joking, right?", asked Don as he had a hard time believing it.

"No, I do not. But there is a problem", stated Amigo in a more serious tone, surprising Don. "You see, señor, there is a human señorita who has been lying at the Pecha tree for several days. She hasn't moved a talon since she suddenly appeared several days ago and no one in the forest has dared to approach her."

Amigo looked around for a second before approaching Don and started whispering. "They believe she's cursed."

"Cursed?", said Don with some skepticism. "I've heard of humans believing in superstitious stuff, but Pokémon? That's new."

"New or not, none has dared to approach her, señor", explained Amigo. "At any rate, I won't dare approach the place, but I can show you the way, señor."

"And risk getting lost on the way? No thanks. Look, I don't care about curses, I just want a Pecha berry that can heal poison. So will you lead the way for me, alright?", requested Don in a stern tone.

With some reluctance, Amigo agreed to lead Don to the girl and the Pecha tree and flied in the direction it was located, with Don not far behind. While he didn't openly admitted it, he was curious about the girl Amigo talked about. And somewhere inside of him, he hoped it was Emily, despite the slim chances. But if it was her, why was she in a forest? The last time he remember seeing her was in a city, but he couldn't remember which one it was.

When Amigo signaled that they had arrived, Don knew he would get his answers soon enough. Sure enough, a young, petite girl was lying underneath the Pecha tree, whose berries were pink and heart-shaped. Don got closer and saw that the girl, who physically looked like she was the same age as Roger, had long, brown hair that went beyond her shoulders. She had a fair skin color and based on her expressionless face, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Her sleeveless shirt and loose socks were both colored cyan, a black wristband was located at her right hand, while her skirt was bright red and surprisingly, she didn't wear any shoes altogether, nor was there anything in the vicinity that resembled them.

Don couldn't help but feel disappointed; this was not Emily after all. She didn't even resemble her. He shook it off his disappointment for the time being and instead looked up towards the berries, which were hanging high up in the tree.

"it's quite high up in the tree, and I don't want to accidentally burn it with my tailflame. Mind give me a hand, Amigo?" asked Don, but to his surprise, Amigo wasn't nearby at all. "Amigo?"

"I'm right here, señor!", Don heard Amigo saying behind some leaves on another tree, which he moments later nervouslyappeared from it. "Are you certain it is safe to approach the señorita?"

"Do I look like I've turned into a Poliwag? I think it was you guys who is imagining things. I'm certain the human has moved away from here from time to time without you seeing that. Now get your feathered butt over here and pluck down one or two berries!", said Don in a higher tone while pointing at the berries, his patience beginning to be running low.

Amigo immediately complied, apparently being more startled by Don's outburst than the girl's presence. Only a few seconds later and two Pecha berries dropped down into Don's open claws, who was more than happy to have acquired what Halligan needed.

"Thanks for the help, Amigo. This will do nicely", Don thanked Amigo, but without warning, he felt something grabbing his right claw which startled him for a moment. He turned his head and saw to his surprise that the girl was now sitting up and had grabbed his claw with her right hand. The girl's eyes were also halfway open and stared at Don with a soulless look, almost as if no one was home.

Amigo, in the meantime, caused an uproar from the girl's sudden movement and hid himself behind some leaves from the same tree from before. But before anyone could figure out what happened, the girl let go of Don and simply fell back down to the ground, as if she lost conscious or something.

"I told you she was cursed, señor! Get out of there!", Amigo pleaded Don, but the Flame Pokémon ignored him and looked curiously at the girl. Something wasn't right about her and he didn't like it, especially that soulless look she gave him. Then an idea popped up in his mind. Maybe Roger's feather could help her. It was a long shot but worth the try.

"I'm taking the girl with me, Amigo, if you don't mind. I think my friend can help her", stated Don as he carefully picked up the girl with both arms without crushing the Pecha berries in his claws. Surprisingly, she was very light to carry for Don and realized that he probably wouldn't be slowed down as much as he thought he would by her weight.

"I-it's completely fine with me, señor. I've nothing against that, and neither has anyone else in this forest", Amigo stuttered.

"One last question, Amigo", Don turned around to the still-hiding Pidgeotto. "Can you tell me where north is? We kinda got lost after the Beedrills attacked us."

"There is a very large tree north of here. If you or any of your camaradas climb up to the top of a smaller tree, you'll know where north is when you see it, señor", explained Amigo while coming out of hiding.

"Thanks for everything, Amigo. I'm heading off now!", shouted Don before he started running the way he and Amigo went to reach the area.

"You're welcome, señor! If you're going to excuse me, I'm gonna gather everyone for a fiesta!", Don heard Amigo shouting behind him in the distance.

***

It wasn't long before Don managed to find the spot where he first met Amigo and from there, he backtracked the way he had run in search for the now found Pecha berries. Roger and the others would be overjoyed that Don had been successful in his search, though they most likely would also be surprised to see him bring a girl along with them. While he was certain that they had found a safe place somewhere nearby, Don couldn't help but worry a little bit.

"Dang, I'm getting soft", remarked Don at the thought while he continued running. He was still being careful about not crushing the berries in his claws while carrying the girl, who seemed to be nowhere near close to waking up, despite Don's often rough running.

He had to wait thinking about the girl for the time being, for he could now smell that Roger was now nearby. But he could smell something else in the air, something that caused him to run even faster.

"Damn it! If it's blood I smell, that can only mean one thing!", exclaimed Don as picked the pace even further. It wasn't long before Don was able to see Roger in the distance, but his blood froze the moment he saw that Roger was leaning on a tree and wasn't moving, while Rampage was lying nearby. He carefully placed the girl down and ran over to Roger, fearing the worst. But to his surprise, Roger raised his head as he approached.

"Ugh, who is it?", Don heard Roger muttering, who became both happy and surprised when he saw Don. "Don? Man, you sure is a sight for sore eyes."

"I came as fast as I could when I smelled blood. What happened? Who got hurt?", Don asked frantically. In the meantime, Rampage also woke up from all the ruckus and looked somewhat beaten.

"That is unusual. You've haven't been so concerned with others until now", remarked Roger with a smile, causing Don to make a frown and look away in response. "We're all safe, Don. Me and Rampage just had to fend off some Beedrills that happened to be warned by a Weedle, who is now in one of my Pokéballs. We just rested a bit after the attack."

Roger showed Don the Pokéball he talked about, who in the meantime was relieved that nothing had happened, until he noticed a wound on Roger's hand.

"What happened to your hand? Shouldn't your feather have healed it by now?", asked Don. He also realized at that point that the wound must be the source of blood he could smell.

"Didn't noticed it until now", stated Roger while looking at the wound with a raised eyebrow before taking out his feather. "Well, the feather is working right now, I can feel that, but it still doesn't heal the wound. If one of the Beedrills managed to hit me, there's only one explanation."

"Poison. Seems like the feather isn't able to neutralize the poison but can only contain it. In return, it cannot heal while it does that", said Don before smiling. "You're lucky I took two Pecha berries with me back instead of only one."

Don cut one of the berries in two before handing over one of the halves to Roger, who immediately began to eat it. It wasn't long before the feather finally began to heal his wound, now finally no longer stopped by the poison. The other half was given to Rampage to be certain he wouldn't be infected with poison.

"Thanks, Don. Now we better get back to Johnny and Halligan with the last berry. They should still be in a sheltered area we found", stated Roger as he stood up.

"Before that, you need to see something", said Don. He gesture them to follow him a few meters until they stood in front of the unconscious girl.

"Who's that? We didn't exactly expect you to bring us a girl as well", Roger asked Don in surprise.

"It's a long story, but she might need our help", stated Don while he picked up the girl. "I'll explain on the way. It's a bit crazy, just so you know."