The Dave
patreon
Pokémon story prologue pt.7
🕑 Added 2024-08-30 13:09:37 +0000 UTCThe next eight months passed faster than ever before, as Ran worked hard to integrate both Spinarak and Zubat into his team. Compared to Ekans, it felt like it took the new pair longer to grow truly comfortable with Ran as their trainer, but eventually they seemed to find their feet (or wings, in Zubat’s case) as trainer pokémon.
Spinarak remained a gentle, timid pokémon, but where she initially seemed to retreat from everyone and everything, more and more she sought Ran out for shelter or comfort. Whenever she was out of her ball and not actively training or otherwise occupied, she tended to look for any form of narrow space that could function as a temporary burrow, whilst remaining as close to her trainer as possible.
Zubat didn’t show the same inclination towards physical proximity as either of Ran’s other two pokémon, instead remaining a solitary sort. But, where initially he’d stake out a roost and get rattled even if Ran himself approached it, he too eased up over time. Though he continued to seek out resting spaces just a bit apart from the rest of the team, it wasn’t lost on Ran that Zubat’s chosen resting spaces gradually changed from simple solitary high points as far from the rest of the team as he could get away with, to natural vantage points which gave him a decent position to watch over the whole of the team, whilst remaining slightly isolated.
Aside from gradually discovering more details about his new team members’ personalities, habits and preferences, Ran’s focus was predominantly on rapidly pushing them to get stronger and stronger. For Spinarak, he did so by predominantly focusing on her ability to pull off the moves String Shot and Scary Face with speed and efficiency. As a relatively limited pokémon until she evolved into Ariados, Ran’s first focus was getting her to a point where she could reliably slow her opponent down enough to give her a fighting chance. Alternatively, Ran figured she could be used to slow down a strong opponent before getting switched out for either Ekans or Zubat.
With Zubat, Ran took a different approach, focusing the vast majority of his training on his speed and maneuverability. One day, Zubat would become the noted speedster Crobat. Ran’s theory was that any and all speed increases they managed now, whilst Zubat was still in its base evolutionary form, would carry over to an exponential degree upon evolution. Additionally, with Zubat’s limited raw power, similarly to Spinarak, Ran wanted the poison-flying-type capable of outspeeding his opponents to such a degree that he’d be able to overcome his relative fragility and limited damage potential.
There wouldn’t be any training today however, as Ran was finally in the Gym’s auditorium once more, watching Bugsy on the big screen for the first time in two years, after the other boy’s seeming absence from the Kanto and Johto circuits the previous year. A lot had changed since then, both on the screen, and off it. On the screen, Bugsy exuded a quiet and unfortunately seemingly well-earned confidence that had been missing two years ago, when he flamed out in the second round of the Indigo League Conference in humiliating fashion. He wasn’t being watched by a large crowd in the Azalea Gym auditorium just yet, with this still being the early rounds of the Silver Conference, but it seemed clear to Ran at least that Bugsy’s run this year would be a deeper one than his rookie debut two years ago.
Despite his dislike for the boy on screen, Ran still managed to greet Spencer - who’d ultimately apologized for his behavior - enthusiastically, as the other boy slid into the seat to Ran’s right mere moments before Bugsy’s match was due to begin. Ran’s eyes were immediately drawn to the vibrant Fast Ball at his friend’s side, that particular addition a very recent one indeed.
“So Scyther finally got a clean bill of health then?” Ran asked with a grin, thinking back to the great scheme Spencer had received his help in just two weeks before. Between Zubat’s Supersonic, Spinarak’s String Shot and Ekans’ Glare, he’d provided Spencer with the perfect circumstances in which Pineco could defeat a Scyther. Spencer and his starter had delivered from there. That intermittently tracking and then trapping a Scyther had taken the pair the better part of six months wasn’t quite as enjoyable as the outcome, but Ran was quite confident that now that they’d both gotten over the hump of establishing a proper core to their rosters - even if Spencer had recently started indicating that he might well end up pivoting to a specialty after all, even if that might mean eventually dropping both his current team members - neither Spencer nor he would ever have quite so much trouble capturing a pokémon ever again.
“He did!” Spencer agreed enthusiastically, before lowering his voice when the angry eye of Gym Leader Walter slid their way at the noise, as Bugsy’s match began in earnest, “I already got him out of his ball and I explained everything. He’s still pretty angry about how I captured him, I think, but he seemed willing to give me a chance, at least.”
“Great, so the plan is still on, then?” Ran asked, wanting to double-check, now that he was finally only mere weeks away from truly setting out, that the plan his companion and he had intermittently formed over the past two years was still on.
“Yes. We get our CGCs and immediately challenge the old man at a first badge level. Using our strong and well-trained teams, we beat him on our first tries, which gets us his and thus the town’s blessing to set out. We’ll be on the road before the end of the first week, Badge winnings added to our budgets, which’ll give us a few months’ worth of buffer. That should be enough to find ways to make more money and once we’re running at a net positive, we’ll be real professional trainers.” Spencer summarized immediately, ignoring Ran’s slight smile.
“I’m aware, Spencer, I didn’t need the summary, just wanted to be sure we were still on track. Pineco should be enough to win you your first badge on his own regardless, but we’d never really accounted for the possibility that Scyther wouldn’t be obedient by the time we get to our challenges.” Ran replied, clarifying his reasoning as in the background the crowd cheered as Bugsy’s Pinsir took down his opponent’s second pokémon, whilst Bugsy still had all three of his options to choose from.
Spencer faltered, awkwardness rearing its head again for a moment, “Ah- Right.”
Ran merely waved him off, “Don’t worry about it. It’s because we’re both actually serious about this that we’ll be traveling together in the first place. Did you hear that Tommy finally gave up? With CGC-applications coming up, he’s finally realized that he doesn’t have anywhere near enough money saved up to set out.”
“I predicted as much two years ago, when you first floated the idea of including him in our plans,” Spencer reminded him, “His Ledyba isn’t bad, but low-level trainer fights don’t pay nearly enough to justify the expenses without another source of income and of the fights he had with actual stakes, I never heard about him winning even one of those.”
“You did,” Ran admitted easily enough, “I just assumed that, as he’s held on to his approach for so long, he’d at least set out on his journey in a few weeks, even if he was going to have to return with debts after a month or so.”
“Oh, look, Bugsy’s won. Good for him,” Spencer changed the topic momentarily, both boys insincerely joining the crowd’s applause as, on the big screen, Bugsy finished bowing to the crowds in the Silver Conference stadium, “Anyways, Tommy doesn’t matter. We should be paying attention to the Conference. If we’re planning to participate next year, we’ll likely be crossing paths with some of these people. You remember that Whitney-”
“Won the Conference a few years ago and is now Goldenrod’s Gym leader, meaning she’ll be our second badge challenge. Yes, Spencer, I’m aware of your great love’s many accomplishments.” Ran cut his friend off with a tired sigh, as he monotonously gave a summary of the countless occasions on which the other boy raved about the pretty Gym leader in the big city.
As always, Spencer immediately flushed and started defending his honor, the by now largely empty auditorium - the already limited audience for Bugsy’s match further decreased by a general lack of interest in the early rounds - livened up by the boy’s heated rebuttal for the next few minutes.
A few nights later, the auditorium was dominated by a very different atmosphere, the room filled to bursting, the seats so filled with eager viewers as to overflow into the aisles. All the way on the first row, which incidentally was the only row that was merely filled normally rather than uncomfortably, the aged Gym leader and his guests of honor watched intently as, on-screen, Bugsy faced his Final Four opponent.
Night after night, Ran had watched the auditorium steadily draw more and more spectators. It was unusual to see the auditorium draw such a crowd, as Azalea Town didn’t have the proudest trainer culture. In fact, the last time a local even made it to the Silver Conference’s Top Eight was almost a decade ago, the gym-sponsored Water-type specialist Clarence, the one responsible for that particular feat, now sat in a place of honor on the Gym leader’s right hand side.
Where in the past years Ran’s visits to the auditorium had mostly been about picking up things he might be able to use in his own career, the past few nights had unfortunately been different, the atmosphere in the large room building upon itself night after night, as the attendances grew to record heights.
Now, surrounded by people who wouldn’t know how to properly train or care for a pokémon as anything more than a pet, Ran found himself drowning in the enthusiasm of the crowd, their cheer clashing painfully with his own personal issues with Bugsy. The crowd cheered when Scizor - and hadn’t that been a surprise - entered the field and drew the match back from a 3-to-1 hole to a battle of Aces. Then, Ran barely stifled a fist pump whilst the crowd deflated when Scizor was finally overcome, only for him to have to reluctantly join the loud applause that broke out in the room when Bugsy was seen on-screen bowing to the cheering crowds of the Silver Conference before making his way back into the stadium, as his opponent soaked in the cheers for a minute longer.
As the applause in the auditorium finally died down and the first people started shuffling in a clear attempt to make it out of the room before the rush could start properly, Walter, the Gym leader, loudly cleared his throat, standing up and stepping to the front of the room, before turning to face nearly the entire town’s population.
“Now that Bugsy has made us all proud by making it to the Final Four of the Silver Conference, I have a long overdue announcement to make,” The old man declared, grave expression immediately dampening the mood in the room, “Bugsy will be returning to Azalea Town before the week is through. When he does, I will be retiring as the Azalea Town Gym leader.”
It was as if all the oxygen got sucked out of the room for a moment, as everyone gasped in shock at the same time, but not the Gym leader, who merely continued placidly.
“My retirement is long overdue as, in truth, my team and I have been on the decline since the war. It is time for a new generation to take over. Which is why the two most talented trainers Azalea Town Gym sponsored during my tenure as Gym leader, Bugsy and Clarence, will be battling for the title of Gym leader in a week’s time. The winner will take over just in time for the new League season. I will remain in town to guide C- the winner for a few months, before traveling once more.”
Pausing for a moment, as if undecided whether he should say any more, Walter finally continued a final time, “The Water types of Hoenn have been calling out to me for over a decade. I intend to see them before I become entirely incapable of traveling. This decision is final and I will not be discussing it further. Thank you for your time, it has been an honor to serve this town as your Gym leader for as long as I have been privileged enough to do so.”
The applause wasn’t quite as loud as earlier, but it lasted a good while longer, Ran clapping along with everyone else even as he knew that Spencer and he were thinking about the same thing.
If Bugsy became Gym leader… Could they stand the embarrassment of challenging their one-time rival for their hometown badge fight? Winning your first badge in your hometown was a rite of passage, even more so than simply getting your CGC was.
Everyone in Johto knew the importance of their traditional town communities. You were a part of your village and your acts and reputation were as much a reflection of your community as they were of you as an individual.
Because of this, whether sponsored or not, the Gym Leader was aware of every aspiring trainer growing up under his aegis. Walter, for example, had cast a curious gaze at the new pokéballs on Ran’s belt, the first time they’d crossed paths after Ran’s capture of Spinarak and Zubat.
To challenge that Gym Leader for your first badge and defeat him, after he’d kept an eye on you along with every other eager aspirant in town for years, was a way for young trainers to prove to their community that they were ready to set out. At the same time, it afforded the Gym Leader a chance to restrain and guide those that weren’t ready just yet.
Ran wasn’t particularly fond of the old man, but he’d been an omnipresent feature in his plans nevertheless. He’d start his journey, book his challenge, make sure his dad came to watch and prove to everyone, including himself, that he had what it took to become a successful trainer before setting out with his first badge secured. The thought that now Bugsy would fulfill that role? Was that something he could stomach?
The visceral disgust that sat heavily in his gut at the mere thought was answer enough.
