Hey all, back again! Those of you confused about what CoRRNet is might want to check out the previous chapters again, specifically chapter 3, where I added mention of it for the first time. Simply put, it stands for Coordinated Ranger Response Network, and acts as a region wide task manager to help warn the public of threats, and allow trainers and Rangers to coordinate.

New story cover is by the artist Shion, from the website Pixiv. Enjoy the chapter, and as always, any and all feedback is appreciated!

(Just a reminder that if you leave reviews as a Guest rather than being logged in to a fanfiction account I can't respond to your reviews! I try to respond to every question I can, so be sure to sign up if you would like a response to your reviews, or head over to /r/rational on Reddit for a more public discussion!)

Chapter 8: Priorities

When Red next wakes, he feels much better rested. His phone shows almost eleven, and a text from half an hour ago tells him Blue and Leaf are waiting in the common room.

Red takes his time showering, then heads to the laundry room to pick up his clothes from last night. The small holes in his shirt are barely noticeable without any blood around them, and the smell is completely gone. He packs them back in his bag, then goes downstairs.

The common room isn't as crowded as it had been the night before, and he quickly spots Leaf and Blue seated across from each other in a square of couches with a table between them. Bulbasaur sits in a potted plant beside Leaf with his eyes closed, and Leaf rubs between his ears.

"Jerk," Red says, taking his hat off Blue's head and sniffing it experimentally before putting it over his damp hair. He'd taken it off during the break in training the night before, and it hadn't absorbed the smell of Charmander's smoke nearly as much as the rest of his clothes had.

"There you are," Leaf says with a smile. "Have trouble sleeping last night?"

Red sighs and flops down on a third couch. "You could say that. Is this food for me?"

"Yep." Blue nudges the plastic box across the table with his foot.

"Thanks." Red opens it and chows down on the cold noodles and strips of beef. "Sorry I couldn't join you guys."

"So what kept you up?"

Red swallows his mouthful, picking his words carefully. "In my attempts to mitigate optimism bias, I fell prey to the planning fallacy."

Leaf raises a brow. "Oh, yeah," she says. "I hate it when that happens."

Blue snorts. "I'm pretty sure it's nerd for 'I screwed up.'"

So Red summarizes his night as he eats. His friends seem particularly interested in how the smoke works, and Red passes his notes to Leaf as Blue takes out his pokedex and looks up a video of it in action.

"The pokedex really is an amazing tool for training," Leaf says. "I spent some time virtually training my pokemon last night to reinforce their target priorities, so it's even easier for them to recognize friendly pokemon like Charmander or Squirtle if there are other pokemon around."

Blue scratches his neck. "Are you going to work on training your rattata and pidgey too, or focus on Bulbasaur for now?"

"I want to at least get comfortable with all of them."

"What about you, Blue?" Red asks.

"YouBlue." Leaf giggles. "Hey, what's new, Blue? Say it isn't true, Blue! What's your favorite hue, Blue?"

Blue ignores her. "Well, I've had a few ideas for what my core team is going to be..."

"I know you always wanted a pidgeot on it."

Blue nods. "Which is why I've already started working with Zephyr."

"Zephyr? Oh. When did you name him?"

"This morning." Blue grins. "Leaf and I did some practice maneuvers on the roof, and he flew circles around Crimson."

Leaf rolls her eyes. "Circle. Singular. He flew one circle around Crimson, and it wasn't even during a race."

"Technically still happened. I'm counting it."

Red finishes eating as they argue, and spies a trash can to throw the box out. On the way back to his seat, he sees Amy sitting across the lobby on her own. Today she's wearing jeans, a sleeveless blue vest over a white shirt, and a white cap. When he waves to her, she waves back, then walks over to their couches and sits on the one across from him. "Heya Red."

"Hi Amy." The other two are looking at her curiously. "These are my friends, Leaf and Blue. I met Amy last night in the training rooms."

Amy smiles. "Nice to meet you all."

"You're a battle trainer!" Blue says, spying the red Volcano Badge on her hat. "Are you here to challenge Leader Giovanni?"

"I actually already have the Earth Badge." She turns over the left side of her jacket, where a cluster of colorful medals gleam. "It was my third." Red leans forward and sees the small green badge, along with the Marsh, Rainbow and Soul Badges.

Blue's eyes light up as he examines them. "Nice. What are you in town for then?"

"I came up from Cinnibar to meet my brother. He just got his last badge and is about to head to the Indigo Plateau."

"That's awesome! How old is he? What was his last badge? Does he plan to go to Johto? Do you-"

"Breathe, Blue," Leaf says. "I'm sure she didn't come over here to answer endless questions."

Amy smiles. "It's fine, really. Twenty-seven, Thunder Badge, and not yet. He wants to try his hand at the League first while he waits for me to catch up."

"Are you heading up to get the Boulder Badge after, then?" Blue asks.

"The Boulder Gym is in Pewter City, north of Viridian Forest," Red explains to Leaf.

"I know, I've been reading the map." She smiles at Amy. "I'm from Unova. We're heading to Pewter City too, if you want some travel company."

Amy looks between them. "You guys didn't hear?"

"Hear what?"

Red gets a sinking feeling, and takes his phone out to check CoRRNet as Amy says, "A sudden storm developed in the Pewter Mountains. It's far to the north as of this morning but the whole city is on high alert. I'm going to hold off until we know for sure where it's headed."

Leaf looks around in the quiet that follows, studying their tense expressions. "Is it one of them?" she asks, voice low. "What kind of storm is it?" Her fingers lie still on Bulbasaur's head, and after a moment he shifts a bit, eyes slipping halfway open. He growls quietly, and she resumes rubbing between his ears.

"Lightning," Red says, reading the report, which warns citizens in the area to check back every few hours to keep track of its movements. "Low precipitation, still a single cell… but a single cell that's been going for two days now." It goes on to call for experienced trainers to gather in Pewter and Cerulean in case of attack. Red's stomach clenches, and he looks at Blue, who's watching him. So soon… We're not ready!

"A storm that small lasting that long is definitely not natural," Amy says. "Which means Zapdos is active again. I'm thinking of taking a detour to Vermillion City until he blows himself out. I suggest you guys hang around here for a bit, wait to see where it moves to."

Blue is leaning back against the couch, arms crossed. He looks at Red and nods, and Red takes a breath before nodding back. "No," Blue says. "We're going."

Amy blinks. "Going… to Pewter?" She looks from Blue to Red's determined faces, and her expression hardens. "I take it back Red, you are dewy-eyed. Maybe even stupid. What do you think you're going to accomplish, other than getting yourselves or your pokemon killed?"

Red opens his mouth to respond, but Blue cuts him off. "What do you care? Run off if you want to; the real trainers will be there with us to defend the city."

Leaf's eyes widen, and Red winces. "What he means is-"

"He said what he meant," Amy says, voice level as she meets Blue's gaze. "Who do you think you are, kid? You've had your pokemon, what, a day or two, and you think that makes you a trainer? Have you ever experienced what the storm gods can do? I have. Watching vids on the net and fantasizing about catching one doesn't give you a clue of what it's like."

Blue drops his gaze to his splayed legs. "My parents were killed when Moltres flew over Fuchsia. I'm not going so I can try and catch Zapdos. I'm going so I can help protect the people there."

Red listens to the other sounds in the lobby in the quiet that follows. One of the people working at the front desk is chattering on the phone, and some trainers across the room are spread out around a flatscreen watching a subtitled movie, its volume on low. There's a loud flapping to his side, and he turns to see a spearow with a hood over its eyes perched on a trainer's gauntleted arm as he walks toward the elevators.

Leaf is watching Blue sadly, and Amy's expression is a bit softer, though her brow is still furrowed.

When it's clear Blue won't say anything else, Red clears his throat. "We made a promise, when we were younger. Swore that we'd do whatever we could against the trio, once we have our own pokemon." He turns to Leaf. "You don't have to come. It's not your fight, and it's not your region. We can meet up again after the danger's past."

Leaf bites her lip. "As great a chapter as it would make for my book, I'm not exactly eager to rush into a storm caused by a legendary. We have our own trio in Unova, and I still have nightmares about the time Tornadus swept through Accumula Town. If mom found out I ran headlong into a Tier 3 threat the first week I got here, she'd tear up my trainer license herself."

Red feels a stab of guilt at that. Be careful, Red… He shies away from the thought of what his death would do to his mother. More visceral than that, fear coils in his belly as he remembers the death and destruction the Storm Birds, or "Storm Gods" as some still call them, can bring.

Fear that he knows his father had probably faced down dozens of times, against one of the trio or lesser threats. Can he hold himself to a lower standard?

But it's too soon! We were supposed to have more time to prepare than this. Surely it's safer, saner, to steer clear for now, and get more experience and pokemon...

Red studies the set of Blue's jaw, the way he glares down, arms crossed. As things stand, Blue will go with or without him. And despite what he said about his motives, Red knows Blue would try to kill the Storm Birds if he has the chance. I need to review my options for changing his mind.

He tables the thought for later. Even if they end up going, he can still keep his word to his mom, and take rational precautions. "We're not going to run headlong into it," Red says. "There are things we can do besides try to drive off Zapdos ourselves. Even if it's just to help with the evacuation, or those who get injured."

Blue nods. "We're not stupid. I wouldn't send Squirtle or Zephyr out in the middle of a lightning storm, and we don't have any ground pokemon between us. There are still other things we can do though, especially if we catch some new pokemon on the way."

Leaf twists her hair around a finger, then lets it go and takes a deep breath and nods. "I'm okay with using CoRRNet to help with any periphery tasks they need help with."

"That's the idea," Red says. "My dad was a Ranger, and he always talked about the need for more trainers in the area. Most local pokemon go to ground and wait the storms out, but some can go wild and attack anyone in the area."

Amy frowns, but says, "Well, that's a bit more sensible. Just remember that the storms move faster than normal weather. You could be dealing with some minor threat one minute, and be at the heart of it all the next. And then there's the Pressure..."

"We'll be careful," Red says.

Amy taps her foot a bit, seems about to say something, then nods and settles back in her seat. "Alright. As long as you're aware of the risks, which it seems you are. Sorry I called you stupid."

Red smiles. "No harm done."

Blue notices Red and Leaf looking at him after a moment, and frowns. "Yeah, no harm done. And... sorry I implied you're not a real trainer."

Amy shrugs. "You'll get it once you've experienced it as a trainer yourself. It takes a lot out of you and your pokemon, wears on you psychologically. Go every time and you'll get strung out, start jumping at shadows and making dangerous mistakes."

"The Leaders show up whenever they can," Blue says, though not accusingly.

She smiles. "Yeah, well, that's part of what makes them Leaders."

"When was your last encounter with one?" Leaf asks, taking out her phone fiddling with it. "And do you mind if I record this?"

"Uh... no I guess not. It was a few months ago. Articuno flew by Lavender near the end of winter, nearly buried the town in a blizzard before it was driven off. My brother and I got severe hypothermia, and he lost a couple toes to frostbite where his boot was cut open by some ice."

"Do the birds come yearly?"

"Yeah, each one is seasonal," Red says, and Leaf turns the recording end of the phone to him. "The exact days vary, but Articuno usually becomes active in the winter, Zapdos in the summer, and Moltres in the fall. This is really early for Zapdos. They've been spotted flying around at other times, but they don't bring the storms. Or maybe it's better to say the storms aren't around to attract them: there's a lot of controversy over how the two interact."

Leaf nods. "Same with our Forces of Nature and their elements. So no fourth bird for spring?"

"There may have been, once," Red says. "There are legends of a fourth god that flies in spring, with rainbow or golden plumage. It didn't cause storms in its wake, so if it's still around, it's hard to notice. It might even be entirely mythical, people just trying to fill the pattern of the seasons with a made up pokemon. The stories say its feathers had rejuvenating powers, and could even restore life to the dead, so mythologically it fits the spring theme pretty well."

Blue snorts. "Maybe it was real at some point, and someone knocked it out of the sky to steal all its feathers."

"In any case, spring is a nice breather," Amy says. "Most years it's not a big deal: they fly around the wilderness, and everyone stays on high alert in case they wander near any towns or populated areas. A bit stressful, but you get used to it. The year before last we only had to deal with Moltres getting too close to some farms: Zapdos just circled the mountains for a few weeks, and Articuno turned some uninhabited island into a glacier all winter."

As they continue to discuss the last few years of the storm trio's activity, Red closes the CoRRNet announcement and sees an update on his ticket from yesterday. A ranger had closed it, with the comment "Rattata nest found and relocated farther from path. Pallet-Viridian Route secure." A small bubble of pride warms him. However minor, it's good to know that they made a difference, and that their experience helped keep others safe.

He does a search for open tickets in the area and spots a few. Most are flagged for Rangers, others for any experienced trainers in the area. Nothing in the city at the moment that requires the help of newbies.

"We boring you, Red?"

"Hm?" Red looks up to see Leaf smiling at him. She doesn't have her phone out anymore, and he belatedly realizes that he hasn't heard any conversation for the past few seconds.

"Nah, he probably just had a thought and completely forgot we existed," Blue says, stretching his arms behind his head. "He does that."

Red's cheeks flush, and he closes CoRRNet and puts his phone away. "Sorry, did I miss a question?"

"I asked if you still want to go to the Earth Gym, or if you'd rather head up to Viridian right away."

"Actually, I want to do some shopping, if that's alright with you guys."

"I thought you were trying to conserve your cash?"

"I was. I did my best to pack everything that might be useful, and thought it was enough. But last night's training drove home how woefully unprepared I am. I'd rather have the gear I need now, like my own gas mask."

"If you guys are headed north soon, there's a supply store on the way-" Amy's phone chimes, and she takes it out. "Excuse me."

"See that?" Blue says to Red. "Manners."

Red frowns at him as Leaf covers her grin. "You're one to talk."

"Hello? Hey! Yeah, I'm at the trainer house. Are you… cool, I'll come out now. See you in a bit!"

She ends the call and stands. "My brother's here. You guys want to meet him?"

"Sure," Blue says as they all get to their feet.

"This way," she says, heading for the elevators. "He doesn't like landing at street level."

Leaf returns Bulbasaur to his ball in a flash of light, and they go to the roof. The noise of the city washes over them as soon as they step out into the sunlight, a bit muted by their elevation. Other buildings rise up around them, most much higher than the trainer house, though not as wide. Some trainers fly by now and again riding their pokemon, but Amy gazes upward, her eyes shaded against the sun as she searches.

Red studies the landing platform that takes up a third of the roof, marked off by divisions for multiple pokemon to land at once. Another third of the roof is divided into dozens of squares the size of a small closet, designated as a safe spot for psychic trainers who have keyed the trainer house as their pokemon's "home" to teleport in.

Not for the first time, Red finds himself watching the teleporting zone, hoping to spot someone pop into existence with their pokemon. There was a similar area in Pallet Town that he used to spend hours watching when he was younger, hoping to see someone pop into existence. His dad had come home that way once, and Red had stayed up as late as he could to greet him, only to succumb to sleep a half hour before he arrived.

Even in a major city like this, the teleportations are rare enough that he knows he probably won't see anyone. Most people train their pokemon to warp directly to a pokemon center, which Red finds a bit pointless: one of the greatest benefits of pokeball technology is that they can freeze their pokemon at any level of injury and get them to a pokemon center without worry. First teleport priority would probably be the nearest hospital. Second would be home for when I want to visit Pallet, third maybe the Celadon City Department Store-

"There he is! Hey Donny!"

A distant screech answers her yell, and they turn to follow Amy's gaze as she waves her arms. Above the tallest building, sunlight flashes off something metallic. For a moment Red thinks a hang glider is swooping down at them, until he sees the red frills and a thrill goes through him.

The skarmory pulls out of its dive when it's level with the roof top, and sails over the edge and onto one of the runways. Its legs kick as it touches down, bouncing it back up a few times with its wings flared until it finally slows to a stop.

The trainer on its back unbuckles himself from the leather harness and hops down. Amy jogs forward to meet him, and Red and Blue exchange amazed grins as they run forward to join her. By the time they cross the roof to the end of his runway, Amy's brother has fed his pokemon something from a pouch at his waist and is stroking its neck.

"Hey bro!" Amy tackle hugs the other blonde, who's a head taller and easily spins her around. He's dressed in a thick leather aviator jacket and pants, loose buckles hanging from his belt where it had attached to skarmory's harness.

"Hey sis." He puts her down and pushes a pair of goggles to his forehead to reveal eyes as light as Professor Oak's. "You didn't mention you had a welcome party waiting."

"These are some newbies I met. Red, Blue, Leaf, this is my brother Donovan and his skarmory, Tita. How's it going girl?" She runs her nails over the metallic bird's fin, which causes it to preen, its plate-like feathers lifting and falling in a ripple that sounds like a quick rain of coins.

They exchange greetings. Leaf admires the skarmory and says "Your pokemon is so beautiful! I didn't know there were skarmory in this region."

"There usually aren't," Blue says. "Did you trade her from someone in Johto?" Red had expected Blue to bombard the competitive trainer with questions, but so far he's showing remarkable restraint.

"Nah, I took a trip down to the Sevii Islands a couple years ago and found her there."

Red smiles. "Her nickname, Tita. That's short for titanium, right?"

Amy looks smug. "Yep. Guess whose idea that was?" She sticks two thumbs at herself, and her brother grabs her wrists and tries to point them at himself.

Red sees Blue and Leaf's bemused looks and says, "The metal that skarmory are coated in is a titanium alloy. It's incredibly light for its strength, and the only type found naturally."

"Neeeeerd," Blue mutters until Leaf elbows him.

"Would it be alright if I pet her?" Leaf asks.

"Sure, let's see if she's in a good mood first." He tugs on the thin chain around his neck and pulls a whistle out the front of his jacket. Watching his skarmory, he blows a few sharp whistles, then a low warble.

Red doesn't notice any particular response from Tita, but apparently Donovan reads something from his pokemon, because after a moment he takes the whistle out and says, "Okay, we should be good. Approach slowly from her side and keep your hands free of the area around her wings: they're very sharp. Also, be sure to stroke from front to back. Ladies first?"

Leaf grins and steps forward, hands carefully held up. Tita notices her when she's a few steps away, and the pokemon's attention sharpens, whole body going still. Leaf pauses while Donovan soothes Tita until the skarmory seems calm again, then continues forward until she can run her hand tentatively down the bird's side.

"Oh!" she gasps. "It's so… not soft, exactly, but… not hard either. Strong, but yielding."

After another few moments she steps away, and Blue goes next. Tita shuffles from foot to foot, but allows herself to be stroked without complaint. Donovan watches his pokemon carefully, whistle held up near his lips as he instructs, "Just there… right. You can explore a bit, but no sudden movements. A few more seconds… okay, now slowly step back."

When it's Red's turn to approach, a knot of tension forms in his stomach, and he hesitates. His eyes dart to the razor sharp edges of skarmory's wings, talon and beak, imagination painting a far too vivid picture of what it would look like tearing through his body.

Donovan wouldn't let us approach if he wasn't sure of his training. He tries to step forward, feet doing an awkward half-shuffle. His instincts ignore rational argument and continue to insist that he get as far away from the metallic death machine as he can.

Only a few seconds have passed, and the others are beginning to glance at him curiously. The shame propels him another half-step forward, but no further. This is mutiny! he yells at his jelly legs.

Then the thin iris of the skarmory's eye meets his, and Red sees an assessment in its alien gaze. Is he a friend, a foe… or possibly food?

Red takes a deep breath, and focuses on his thought process. What are my priorities, and how do my actions align with them?

Priority one: Learn as much as possible about pokemon so I can become a Professor, which also helps-

Priority two: Become an effective trainer, so that I can -

Priority three: Protect the public, benefits of which includes -

Priority four: Gain respect among tribe members and wider community, which helps-

Priority five: Get funding and support to discover the origin of pokemon species.

This paralysis hinders all of the above priorities. So what is its purpose?



To protect the self, loss of which also hinders all of the above.



Exaggeration: The life as a trainer requires far more dangerous risks than this. How can I expect to help Blue against the storm birds if I can't even do this?

Irrelevant: Possibility of future justified risk doesn't excuse present recklessness.

Strawman: Present risk is not reckless, and is justified by mitigating future risk through contribution to priorities one and two. What purpose, value, or priority does this fear serve?



Another couple seconds have passed, and a drop of sweat creeps down the back of Red's neck as he continues to meet the skarmory's gaze. Some pokemon flies near the building, but doesn't land on the roof with them.



…None. It just is, the simple consequence of acknowledging reality. If someone as capable as dad could die, so can I, and far more easily.

Red lets out his breath. Dad wasn't ignorant of reality. He knew the risks. And if he could overcome his fear, so can I, or I might as well go home now.

Red takes a step forward. The next is easier, but on the third the armored bird shifts a bit. Red stops, sweat breaking out all over his body. Donovan strokes Tita's beak, and when she calms down again, Red forces himself to take another step, wiping his clammy hands on his pants. He's acutely aware that the others are watching him, but as long as he keeps moving forward, he doesn't have to feel ashamed of the fluttering in his belly.

Once he's close enough to touch the skarmory, he stops and looks at Donovan. The trainer studies his pokemon briefly, then nods at him. Red slowly reaches out a hand and rests it on the skarmory's thigh... and sudden wonder blows his fear away.

What looks like a smooth metal body is in fact thousands of small metallic feathers. Each is incredibly fine, but their combined overlapping strength gives the pokemon its incredible physical durability.

"Make a stroking motion, so she knows you're friendly," Donovan says, and Red does so, amazed by the distant feel of the warm body beneath the cool metal coating. He's never felt anything like it.

"Is it alright if I look closer?" Red asks.

"Sure, give me a sec." Donovan snaps his fingers in front of Tita. The skarmory fixes her attention on her trainer, then the bright blue pokepuff he pulls out of a pocket in his jacket. "Okay, go ahead," he tells Red, keeping his gaze on his pokemon.

Red crouches forward and examines the glossy coat from an inch away. From here, he can just barely make out that the ripples of distortion on the pokemon's metal coat, which he'd originally taken to be lines of impurity, are actually super thin divisions where the scale-like feathers overlap.

"Got a few more seconds," Donovan says. Red nods, and after a few more strokes, steps away from the pokemon. Some of his nervousness returns now that he's no longer touching it, and he backs away until he's with Leaf and Blue again.

He braces himself for some comment by the others, but Blue just claps him on the back, and Leaf smiles at him. "Pretty awesome, huh?"

"Definitely." Red turns to Donovan and Amy. "Thank you very much." That seems inadequate, so he puts his hands to his sides and bows from the waist, at about a thirty degree angle. "It was an honor to be able to interact with your pokemon, Donovan-san."

Blue bows beside him, and after a surprised look Leaf mimics them. Globalization had faded much of each region's unique culture in the times of Red's grandparents and great grandparents, homogenizing everything from names to language to currency, but children are still taught the basic historical etiquette.

The older trainers look amused, but Donovan returns the bow after a moment. "It was my pleasure." He gives Tita one more scratch along her neck, then steps back and returns her to her pokeball in a flash of light. "So what's the story with you three? From around here?"

They tell him where they're from as they walk back to the roof access and take the elevator down. Once in the common room, Red notices a bigger crowd than there had been earlier. Most of them seem gathered near the entrance.

"What's up?" Blue asks one of the trainers nearby.

"Someone said Reza Salur is on his way here."

"Reza's here?" Blue stands on his toes and cranes his neck to look over the crowd.

"Ah, shit," Donovan says with a rueful grin. "I was hoping he'd get bogged down in Cerulean a while longer."

Red scratches beneath his cap. "Why is that name familiar?"

Blue gives him a flat look. "Do you ever listen when I talk?"

"Depends. Is he a battle trainer you admire, or did he actually do something important?" Red looks at Amy and Donovan. "No offense."

Amy grins. "None taken."

Blue rolls his eyes. "He's the dragon trainer that single-handedly stopped a kangaskhan herd from flattening Rifu Village last year."

Red frowns. "Rings a faint bell."

"You know him?" Leaf asks Donovan.

"Yeah, a bit. We met for the first time a couple years back in the Saffron Gym. It was his third badge, my second. Since then we've been keeping tabs on each other's progress. He-"

The front door opens, and a young man with dark skin and a black jacket walks in. He seems surprised for a moment by the number of people near the entrance, but quickly continues forward to the front desk. His hair is worn long, and swept to hang over the left side of his face.

"Younger than I expected," Amy says.

Donovan nods. "He's about your age."

When he finishes checking in, Reza makes his way through the common room, gaze on the elevators ahead as he ignores the looks and whispers of those around him. Once Reza is past the crowd and fully in sight, Red sees the heavy scars that run along his left jaw and cheek, partially obscured by hair.

Donovan gives a casual salute with two fingers. The dragon trainer glances at him, then smiles in wry amusement and nods back. As he passes, Red notices the conspicuous lack of an ear under his hair, and wonders how far the scarring goes.

"So he's challenging the League too?" Red asks once he passes.

"Yep. Part of me wants to see how good he is for myself, but I won't complain if he gets knocked out before that. Fighting dragons is never fun."

"Nor training them, from the looks of it," Leaf says, and Red nods. As I'll find out for myself, someday. His thumb rubs the roof of Charmander's pokeball.

The crowd is beginning to disperse, and the group makes their way through to the front desk to check out. When it's his turn, Red swipes his trainer card, then pays four dollars, plus another two for the use of the training room.

"Thank you for staying," the receptionist says. "We hope to see you again soon!" Red thanks him and joins the others outside.

"Well, I'm starving," Donovan announces once they're outside. "How does seafood sound to you, Ames?"

"Right behind you." She turns to them. "Care to join us?"

"I already ate." Red looks at the others, "What do you guys think?"

"We should probably get going," Blue says. "I want to get to Viridian Forest today."

Leaf nods. "It was great to meet the two of you!"

Amy smiles. "It was. I hope you enjoy your time in Kanto, Leaf."

"Thanks, I'm loving it so far!"

Blue turns to Donovan. "Good luck in the league. I'll keep an eye out for you."

They say their farewells and part. Red's a bit disappointed that Amy won't be traveling with them, but his excitement to be back on the move quickly dominates his mood as they walk up the street and head north.

"Okay, so there's a few stores on the way that have what I need," he says as he checks online. "Is there anything you guys want to pick up too?"

"Wouldn't mind getting a whistle and chain," Blue says.

Leaf looks up at the summer sun as it beat down on them. "And I'd like to find a nice hat."

"Hat, whistle, gas mask…" Red types with his thumbs, watching stores fade from the map until two are left. "Got one." He puts his phone away, already thinking of what else he'd like to buy. "The closest is on the northern edge of the city though. Do we want to leave just yet?"

Leaf checks the time. "Well, I'm glad we met Amy and Donovan, but we're behind schedule."

"Yeah, I'd like to get to the forest before dark," Blue says. " What do you say, master fallacy planner? Think we can make it?"

Red shrugs. "Sure, as long as no more than three moderately interesting or disrupting unexpected things happen along the way."

Blue smiles. "Those odds aren't so bad."

Just then, an exeggutor runs out from a restaurant ahead of them, a food held in each of its numerous mouths. Cars honk as it dashes across the street, and someone in a suit runs after it, pokeball in hand as he tries to get a lock on his pokemon. The two are followed by a pair of angry restaurant staff, and the trainers watch them all run by, then look at each other.

Blue steps to the edge of the sidewalk and holds up a hand at one of the stopped cabs. "Taxi!"