"Phew! We finally arrived!" said Bill.
"It sure took a while to get here," said **Blue**, looking at the sign at the city's entrance.
*Welcome to Crimson City, where prosperity blooms.*
"Come on, Leaf, let's find a good place to rest. Then we can look for that friend of mine I told you about," said Bill, and the two started walking.
It had been days since the duo left Cerulean City. When **Blue** had asked Bill if he knew anything about the crimes spanning Kanto and Johto she needed to investigate, the young teenager decided to join her and suggested they start in Crimson City. He knew someone there who, in his words, "might be aware of something useful"—a friend who had once worked as Professor Elm's assistant for a year and a half. A very smart person, currently living in Crimson City while planning to apply for a job at the Pewter City Museum of Science.
As they walked, **Blue** noticed that for a city, it wasn't very large. It seemed average, if not smaller. Cerulean was definitely larger and prettier.
Speaking of which, the city didn't look like a nice place to live. Litter filled every corner she saw, there were cracked or broken windows, vandalized walls, and an overall deteriorated look to most buildings.
"Nice neighborhood... I guess?"
"You don't need to try and sound nice, Leaf."
"Oh, thank goodness. I'm awful at that," said **Blue in relief**, before remembering the entrance sign. "Wait, the sign said something about prosperity, and so far, I've seen the opposite. What gives?"
"Oh, that? Well, you see; back when this was first a small settlement, it was known for its abundant rice fields. High demand made the settlement grow quickly into a sizable city. Unfortunately, it was later hit by many disasters over the years," he said.
"What kind of disasters?"
"You name it: harsh weather, infestations, pollution. At different times, the city was attacked by bandits and crime gangs. So many factions fought over this place that there were constant skirmishes."
"Jeez, what's next? A meteor falling on top of the place?"
"Actually, there was a meteor shower here a long time ago. Truth be told, at this point if you said that, people might actually believe you," he explained, much to **the girl's** surprise.
"...You know? I think it's better if I keep quiet," said **Blue**, making Bill chuckle.
"Yeah... Eventually, most of those problems started to fade, but the city never truly recovered," he said, looking around the messy street. "There aren't many opportunities, so the crime rate is high. The only reason Team Rocket hasn't taken over is because of all the competition they have here."
**Blue** listened carefully. She was smart for her age, and while she knew the region wasn't in great shape, she hadn't realized it was this bad. Then again, her own situation was another example of the region's problems. The duo kept walking, looking for a place to eat, when they saw a crowd gathered near a worn-down pavilion.
Intrigued, they headed over. A battle was taking place between two trainers. On one end was a man with black hair wearing a gi, his partner a Hitmonlee. On the other end was a girl not much older than **Blue**, maybe by two or three years. She had long purple hair adorned with a large yellow bow, wore a pink kimono, and had sharp blue eyes. Her Pokémon, to **Blue's** surprise, was a derpy-looking Bellsprout.
"Alright, Hitmonlee, use Low Kick!" shouted the man. The Pokémon rushed forward, leg sweeping low.
"Bellsprout, dodge it!" said the girl calmly.
"Bell!" chirped the Pokémon.
As the Fighting-type swung its kick, Bellsprout hopped over it with a finesse no one expected. While it surprised the girl's opponent, he pressed the assault. Yet, astonishingly, the Grass-type dodged every subsequent attack with an elegance worthy of a top Coordinator. As time passed, Hitmonlee grew tired, while Bellsprout remained fresh.
"Let's go on the offensive now! Use Cut!" she commanded.
The grass type's leaves glowed white, and it rushed forward, slashing at Hitmonlee's face and pushing it back. Not giving a moment's respite, Bellsprout continued its assault. Though the opponent tried to dodge, most attacks landed. Each slash was precise, the technique reminiscent of a kendo practitioner. Due to type resistance, the damage wasn't maximal, but the sheer number of hits left Hitmonlee looking battered.
"Wow, she's good," muttered **Blue**, watching intently.
"Now, let's wrap this up with Vine Whip!" she shouted.
Vines erupted from Bellsprout, wrapping around Hitmonlee. The Fighting-type struggled but was too exhausted. Before its trainer could think of a counter, Bellsprout swung it through the air and slammed it hard into the ground. Hitmonlee tried to rise but fell unconscious.
"I believe that makes us the victors," said the girl, kneeling to pat her returning Pokémon on the head. "Very well done, Bellsprout!"
"Sprout!" it replied, nuzzling her hand.
**Blue** studied the girl. She hadn't seen the whole fight, but if it was all like this, the girl was undoubtedly strong—perhaps on par with Red and Green, if not superior in technique. The audience clearly agreed, showering her with praise as she shook her opponent's hand.
"Yeah! That's Jeanette Fisher for you!"
"As magnificent as always!"
"She's the hope of Crimson City!"
The girl in the pink kimono, Jeanette Fisher, accepted something from the defeated man with a grateful nod. *She... kind of looks familiar,* **Blue** mused quietly. Despite the crowd's noise, a man next to her and Bill overheard.
"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked. They both shook their heads. "Well, she might look familiar because of a tournament about four months ago in a nearby town."
"Oh yeah," **Blue** said, remembering. "It was a Grass-type tournament, right? Like the one in Johto?"
"Exactly! She entered and, even though people laughed at her for using a 'mere Bellsprout,' she won the whole thing. Reporters and photographers swarmed her afterward, marveling at her talent," he said.
*I think I remember that tournament,* **Blue thought**. *Red was pretty bummed when the guy with the Vileplume lost in the first round.* She also remembered winning twenty-five Pokédollars betting against him that day.
"By the crowd's reaction, I guess she's pretty famous here," said Bill. The man nodded.
"Indeed. She's the most talented trainer this city has produced in over sixty years," he said, watching Jeanette bow respectfully to her fans before taking her leave. "She truly is our hope."
With that, the crowd began to disperse, murmuring about the girl's magnificence. Soon after, **Blue** and Bill did the same, resuming their search for somewhere to eat.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bill and Blue walked for a couple more minutes until they finally found a place to eat. It was a small place called the Crimson Diner, and while it wasn't particularly appealing from the outside, compared to other spots they'd been to, it looked like a five-star restaurant next to anything else they'd seen in the city so far.
Deciding to enter, the duo found the place nearly full, except for one booth at the far end. They quickly claimed it and took their seats. A waitress arrived shortly and asked for their orders. Still unsure, they requested two sodas while they decided. The waitress nodded and left to fetch their drinks. In the meantime, Bill excused himself, telling Leaf he was going to the restroom and would then find a payphone to call his friend and arrange a meeting for later.
Leaf nodded as he left. She remained seated, pulling out her Pokédex to kill time. Soon, the bell above the entrance chimed as someone new arrived. The person glanced around, searching for a seat. Eventually, her eyes landed on Leaf sitting alone, and she decided to approach.
"Umm, excuse me, miss?"
**Blue** turned to see none other than the local star, Jeanette Fisher, accompanied by her ever-faithful Bellsprout. "I know this might be a little forward of me, but would it be okay if I sat here? The place is quite full, and I saw you were by yourself."
"Oh... well, I'm actually not alone. I came here with a friend," answered the girl in the black dress.
"Oh, then I'm sorry to bother you," Jeanette apologized, bowing politely. After a moment, Bellsprout clumsily mimicked the gesture once it noticed what its trainer was doing.
"Oh, don't be," **Blue** assured her. "But, like you said, the place is packed, and I have a feeling it'd be a pain to find another spot… plus, it's just me and my friend… I guess it wouldn't be too much trouble if you joined us." She said it with less confidence than she intended.
Normally, **Blue** might have brushed her off with a "Well, sucks to be you," but lately, Bill's company had made her slightly more tolerant of people outside her immediate circle. That, and Red's annoyingly persistent good influence had somehow made her capable of small acts of kindness.
*I really need to spend more time with Green,* she thought, convinced the only way to counter good influence was with an equal dose of bad.
"Is that so?" Jeanette asked, receiving an awkward nod from the Pallet girl. "Thank you, we truly appreciate the gesture," she said kindly, bowing once more. Bellsprout, after a delayed half-minute, did the same.
"It's nothing, really," **Blue** told them as the pair took their seats. "You're Jeanette Fisher, right?"
"Oh, so you've heard of me?"
"A little. Someone filled my friend and me in, but truthfully, you looked familiar. He mentioned you competed in a tournament a few months back, and I remember watching that on TV with my friends," she told the girl in the pink kimono. "By the way, I'm Leaf. Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," Jeanette replied.
"Bellsprout!" chimed the Grass-type.
"I saw your battle earlier. You're pretty good."
"You really think so?" Jeanette asked, receiving a nod from the Pokédex holder. "I'm flattered you think so highly of me."
"Yeah, I know a couple of knuckleheads who are strong themselves. Believe me, from what I saw, you could probably give them a run for their money."
"Oh, are they really that strong?"
"Yup. One already has two Gym Badges, and the other only has one because he decided not to challenge the Cerulean City Gym yet."
"They're taking on the Gym Leaders? They must be something else."
"You bet. Their goal is to compete in the Indigo Plateau Conference this year," **Blue** said.
"Are you planning to do the same?" Jeanette asked.
"Oh, no. I mean, I'm no weakling when it comes to battling, but I'm just not interested in competing."
"What a shame. I've always dreamed of battling trainers I meet in the Pokémon League, but if you don't wish to compete, I suppose there's no changing that."
"So, you're planning to enter?" **Blue** asked.
"I am. I plan to leave the best impression I can, whether by winning the tournament or simply ranking high with a strong performance," she answered. "Bellsprout and I have been training as hard as we can for the last two years. Competing in and winning the Kei Grass-Type Tournament was our way of proving we were strong enough to start challenging the Gym Leaders and qualify for the Indigo Plateau Conference."
"I see," **Blue** noted, then remembered something. "Hey, just out of curiosity, what did that guy give you after the match?" she asked.
"Oh, you mean this?" Jeanette pulled out a small case with a disk inside, labeled **TM01** on the clear sleeve.
"Yeah, that."
"It's a TM—short for Technical Machine," the kimono-wearing girl explained. "They can be used to help Pokémon learn new moves. For example, the move Bullet Seed can be learned through training, from a tutor, or naturally over time. But if you don't want to wait, you can use one of these. You hook it up to a Technical Machine, and it transmits waves to the Pokémon's mind, letting it learn the move instantly."
"And where do you get a Technical Machine?"
"Well, they sell the machines themselves at certain PokéMarts, but they're a bit pricey from what I've seen. If you don't have the money, you can usually find public ones inside Pokémon Centers."
"And the guy just gave that to you for winning?"
"According to him, he's obsessed with kicks. He went on and on about how kicking is infinitely superior to punching—apparently, he badmouthed some other guy with a Hitmonchan who's obsessed with punches," Jeanette said, recalling his rant. "Funny enough, I actually met that guy near Mt. Moon, and the same thing happened. But instead of giving me a TM, he taught the move to my Pokémon directly."
**Blue** listened, and something from the Pokédex manual suddenly came to mind. She remembered reading that the device could function as a substitute for a traditional Technical Machine. If her memory served (and it usually did), she could insert a TM or even something called an HM into the Pokédex and use it just like a normal machine.
Her train of thought was interrupted as Bill returned to the booth.
"I just got off the phone with my friend. We agreed to meet later," he said, then noticed the local star and her Grass-type partner. "Oh, I didn't realize we'd have company." He took a seat next to **Blue**.
"Yeah, since the place was full and we had the space, I thought it'd be okay to share," the Pokédex holder told him.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jeanette Fisher."
"Name's Bill. We heard a few things about you earlier," the young genius said.
Just then, the waitress returned with Bill and **Blue's** drinks. "Here we go, two cold sodas! Are you ready to order?" she asked the group.
"I think I'll have some yakisoba," said Bill.
"I'll have a cheeseburger and fries. I'm craving something simple today," said **Blue**.
"Noted!" said the waitress before turning to Jeanette. "Would you like the usual?"
"If it's not too much trouble."
"For Crimson City's own superstar? Not at all!" She gathered the menus and left.
"Hey Bill, you mentioned your friend?" **Blue** prompted.
"Oh, right. Like I said, I talked to him, and we agreed to meet in about three hours."
"Geez, why so long?"
"He said something about believing he'd made a breakthrough in his… *unconventional* investigation," Bill told her.
"And here I thought I was supposed to be the insensitive one," **Blue** muttered.
"I don't mean it like that… well, kind of. It's just that his investigation isn't exactly the traditional kind."
"By the way," Bill added, suddenly remembering, "just in case, it might be better if you don't bring Jigglypuff out."
"Why?"
"His main research involves Clefairy and its evolutionary line, and he's a little… *obsessed* with them."
"Clefairy, you say? You wouldn't happen to be talking about Seymour Iwanaga, would you?" Jeanette asked, receiving a nod from Bill. "You know him?" **Blue** asked.
"I may be the best trainer in Crimson City, but I'm by no means its only promising star," Jeanette told the duo. "The same way people praise my battling skills, they praise his gifted mind. Many treat him as someone who could one day reach the heights of Professors Willow, Bellis, or Lund. He's truly a remarkable intellect."
"And a bit surreal at times," Bill added dryly.
"Oh, come on, Bill. I'm sure he can't be that bad," **Blue** said. "What's his investigation supposed to prove that makes you call it 'wacky'?"
"Well, for starters," Bill replied, lowering his voice slightly, "he's trying to prove that Clefairy and its entire evolutionary line come from outer space."
"...Excuse me, outer *what* now?" **Blue** stared at him, her soda forgotten.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"You think you can fix it, James?" asked Ken to the other Rocket member.
After meeting up with their fellow Rocket members and having a meal with them; Jessie, James and Meowth headed for one of the main hideouts of Vermillion city to join the operation that was meant to take place soon. At first, the man that was responsible for the operation was rather skeptical with allowing the Rocket trio due to just how well known their incompetence was. But when he remembered that they, or at the very least James, were very good mechanics, he decided to allow for them to join them. Right now, James was looking at a strange machine that he wasn't that familiar with and that, at least to Meowth, looked like it had seen better days.
The machine itself was cylindric in shape, of around twenty or so centimeters with and was about the same height as Meowth. It seemed like it was meant to look pretty advance, but it had many bumps and whatnot all around with a few bits obviously broken and with a couple of components missing. Some of the more carefree members had already dubbed the machine 'the future dumpster'.
"I think... maybe... Ok, I'm not entirely sure, what is this anyway? And why does it look like it was hit by a rampaging herd of Tauros?" asked James.
"That's a pokeball jammer." said an imposing voice that, upon being heard, made every Rocket recruit (with the exception of James, who had been kneeling to look at the machine carefully) stiffen and take formation. "It comes all the way from the Alola region and is a somewhat old model that was made by an organization called the Aether foundation." informed a deep voice.
"A-Aether foundation? I-I don't think I've h-heard of them." said a nervous James to the towering figure whose face was hidden in the shadows.
"They're a bunch of Pokémon defenders or something like that. Annoying bunch that's what I call them, but they do have some impressive technology." the man started to explain to his subordinates. "The boss has connections there and it is because of said connections that some members managed to get a hold on one of this. Of course, they decided to piss off some guy there and because of the mess that they got themselves into, they ended up wrecking the device."
"Oh, t-that explain things."
"Yeah, so the question is, can you fix it?" he asked, making James even more nervous than before.
"I-I think I can."
"You think?"
"EEHHHH!" he mentally screamed, almost feeling as if he was staring at the eyes of a ferocious Gyrados. "W-What I'm trying to say is that I-I'm not really familiar with this equipment! M-Maybe if I had the schematics or something to guide me, I could have this fix in no time, but without anything like that I'm completely lost. That's without mentioning the fact that I don't know what to use for a stable power source." he said nervously.
"So, you're saying that you're completely useless?" he asked in a serious tone that made everyone in the room flinched. Most turned the other way, already assuming poor James a dead man.
"N-No! I mean, I think I can improvise something!" he said shaking in his boots. "So please, don't feed me to an angry Tyranitar!"
"... I expect to see results soon. The mission will begin tomorrow." he said, turning around and leaving the room, making everyone sigh in relieve.
"Geez, for a moment I thought that he was going to chop James' head off." said Jessie, looking at the terrified James, completely shaken and white as a ghost.
"Come on Jessie, the guy would never do that... I think." said Ken, turning to another Rocket member. "Would he?" he asked.
"Don't ask me, only thing I know is that this guy isn't even the scariest Rocket higher up." he said, shivering at the thought of that person.
"Whatever, da only thing that we should be focusing now, is preparing for da mission." the talking Pokémon said, before walking to James, who was still in the ground shaking. "Hey, James, da you need-"
"AHHHH! I'M WORKING, I'M WORKING! PLEASE DON'T BRING THE TYRANITAR!" James shouted, quickly getting back on his feet and rushing for as many tools as he could.
"... I think we should let the guy have some alone time for now." said one of the members, receiving a nod from everyone else, whom then left the room, leaving a lone James to work on the repairs by himself.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Here is the revised draft with Wartortle replaced by Jigglypuff:
"I guess it's safe to assume that you were hungry," said Bill to his young friend.
"A little, but truth be told that burger was probably one of the best I've ever had," she told him, taking a sip of her soda.
"One shouldn't be surprised. After all, this is the best diner in the whole area. I'm speaking from experience," said Jeanette.
She had already been to a couple of places and still considered the Crimson Diner to have the best food around. Truth be told, she wouldn't be surprised if the food here was better than some restaurants in Vermilion City.
"Really? No offense, but it's kind of a waste that a place with food this good has to be located in a city as messed up as Crimson City."
"Leaf! Don't say that!"
"No, it's fine. I was expecting one of you to say that," Jeanette informed the two. "In reality, the people of this city have heard things like that for so long that at this point they hardly care."
"Man, that's pretty sad," said the Pallet native, causing Bill to sigh at how insensitive the girl could be at times—something he still hadn't figured out was on purpose or just social obliviousness.
"It is. What's worse is that there is more talent like this all across the city," said Jeanette. "For example, there's a couple that makes beautiful crafts not far from here. So good, in fact, that I truly believe they could compete against the craftsmen of Sunburst Island in the Orange Archipelago. I guess you could say the city has talent that has yet to be exploited."
"But what about Seymour? I mean, sure, sometimes he's a little wacky, but I know for a fact that he's one of the smartest people I know. Otherwise, I don't think he would be considered for a job at the Pewter City Museum of Science."
"That's the thing. One of the reasons Seymour applied for a job there was because there are no opportunities here. Just so you can have an idea of how bad things are, there isn't even a Pokémon Center here. The closest thing to one is a clinic near downtown that relies on outdated equipment. Honestly, we hardly ever receive any kind of aid, whether from the government, the Pokémon League, or any company. They wouldn't even consider investing a single penny in Crimson City," she said.
"That's quite awful."
"It is. Actually, when the adults were around our age or a little older, they tried to participate in the Pokémon League. They believed that if even one of them could so much as qualify for the tournament and either rank high or, dare I say, win, then maybe people would start to pay attention to us," Jeanette told them, recounting events from long before any of them were born. "Unfortunately for them, most could barely beat what was, at the time, the least powerful Gym Leader. To the point that, unlike other Leaders, he had to go all out to beat his opponents. Besides that, most couldn't make it past the preliminaries, and the only one who did lost in the first round very quickly."
"Is that why people refer to you as 'the hope of Crimson City'?" asked Bill.
"Indeed. I'm so far the most talented trainer the city has ever produced. Which is why I decided that one of my goals must be to make a spectacular performance in the Pokémon League. And if possible, to win the tournament, so that people would pay attention and listen to us."
"It must be quite stressful," said Bill.
"Perhaps on occasion. But truth be told, I don't mind."
"Wait, you said one of your goals. So that means you have more?"
"Why, of course! After all, even if I were to win the tournament, there's more out there," she told her.
"Yeah, makes sense when you put it that way," said Blue, before finishing her soda.
Before any of them could continue their conversation, a sudden explosion, followed by screams, made them look outside the window. On the streets, a couple of Team Rocket grunts were causing mayhem—breaking windows, trashing the streets, and trying to steal Pokémon from unlucky citizens.
"What is Team Rocket doing here? I thought you said they could never take over the city because of the competition they had here?" Blue asked her friend.
"I did say that, yeah. That doesn't stop them from trying," he replied.
Then, much to their surprise, Jeanette and Bellsprout stood up. Her expression was clearly displeased as she frowned at the criminals bringing more chaos to a city that had seen nothing but suffering.
"Apologies, but Bellsprout and I must take care of things."
"Bellsprout!"
"Wait a minute, are you planning on taking on Team Rocket?!" asked Bill.
"As the most talented trainer of Crimson City, it is my duty to defend her and her people from threats like Team Rocket. This city has suffered enough without them coming here," she replied.
"Just so you know, I counted three of them, and I'm very certain they have at least two Pokémon each. That means you'll have to deal with a total of six enemy Pokémon by yourself," said the Pallet native.
"Even if I have to face off against a hundred of them all by myself, I will not allow them to do as they please if I can do something about it," she told her, making Blue sigh.
"Honestly, you're starting to sound a bit like a friend of mine," she said, standing up as well.
"Leaf?" asked Bill.
"She's going to need some help to beat those guys, right?"
"You're saying that you want to fight by my side?" Jeanette asked the girl.
"I guess I do."
"And why would that be?"
"I don't know, I probably spent way too much time with this friend of mine that it's making me do these kinds of things," she told them, thinking to herself that she really needed to spend more time with Green.
"Whatever the reason is, I will gladly accept your offer to aid me," she told her, taking out two Poké Balls, one in each hand. "Well then, shall we?"
Blue smiled as she pulled out three Poké Balls of her own. "Sure, not like they'll be any trouble, if I'm honest."
"If you can keep up with me, then that statement will actually be true," replied the girl in the pink kimono with a cocky smile.
"Is that a challenge? Am I being challenged by the wondrous Jeanette Fisher? The hope of Crimson City?" Blue asked jokingly.
"Perhaps you are."
"Oh, girl, just so you know, no one challenges Leaf that easily without getting more than they bargained for!" she told her.
"Let us focus on the task at hand first, alright?" Jeanette said.
"Fine," she replied.
And so, the two girls (and Bellsprout) left the diner to battle Team Rocket, leaving a lone Bill by himself.
"Well... I guess I'll be waiting for you two here," he said, taking a sip of his soda.
Meanwhile, outside the Crimson Diner, a Rocket grunt, alongside his Grimer, was approaching a boy and his Pokémon.
"C'mon, kid, hand over that Eevee. It's not like it has any use staying with a weakling like you," threatened the man.
The boy and the Pokémon tried to run but were cut off by another Rocket grunt and her Rattata. Surrounded and thinking the worst was about to happen, blades of wind crashed between the boy and the Rocket with the Grimer.
"What?! Who dares?!" he exclaimed, turning to meet both Blue and Jeanette, who had their Pokémon out.
In Blue's case, she had **Jigglypuff**, Ditty (who had taken the appearance of Jigglypuff), and Clefy the Clefairy. Having a Fairy-type up against Poison-types wasn't the best idea, but Blue didn't have many other options at the moment. As for Jeanette, she of course had Bellsprout by her side, but the new additions were a green Bug-type with blades for arms and a humanoid Pokémon with a pale purple body and brown hips. Blue recognized the Bug Pokémon as the mantis Pokémon, Scyther, but the other Pokémon was completely new to her and didn't look native to Kanto.
"Who dares? I should be the one saying that to you, loathsome lot!" Jeanette replied.
"Scyyyyy!"
"Bell!"
"Tyrogue!"
"Huh? And who are you two supposed to be, anyway?!" asked the woman with the Rattata.
"The ones that will put a stop to this cruelty!"
"In other words, we're gonna kick your butts!" declared Blue.
"Jiggly!"
"Clefairy!"
"Puff!"
"Oh, are you? Well then, we're going to show you what happens when you mess with Team Rocket, little girls!" exclaimed another man who had a Koffing, pulling out another Poké Ball and throwing it. "Zubat, use Wing Attack!"
"Raticate, use Tackle!"
"Scyther, use Air Slash!" Jeanette commanded her Bug-type.
"Scy!" the Bug-type replied.
The mantis Pokémon stood strong against both the Normal and Flying/Poison-types charging at him. He swung his blades multiple times, releasing razor-sharp wind blades that easily pushed them back.
"Will you two stop goofing around?" asked the female grunt, throwing another Poké Ball to reveal a yellow bipedal Pokémon. "Rattata, use Slam! Drowzee, Confusion!"
"Like we'll let that happen. Ditty, Clefy, both of you use Bite on that Drowzee! Jigglypuff, use Double Slap on Rattata!" Blue commanded her Pokémon.
"Puff!" said both Ditty and Jigglypuff in unison.
They charged at the Psychic-type with energy in their jaws, both biting the Hypnosis Pokémon and dealing super-effective damage multiplied by two, easily knocking it down. As for Clefy, he rushed at the Normal-type and slapped it a total of five times (which technically wasn't what "double" meant, but Blue wasn't complaining). On the fifth slap, Clefy sent Rattata backward next to its fallen comrade, unconscious.
"What?!" the grunt exclaimed, seeing her Pokémon bested so easily.
"Grimer, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Koffing, use Toxic!"
The two Pokémon unleashed their Poison-type attacks simultaneously. Grimer shot balls of sludge from its mouth while Koffing summoned a wave of toxic purple substance directed at their opponents. Blue was about to command her Pokémon to dodge, but Jeanette stepped in.
"Scyther, Air Slash on Toxic! Bellsprout, counter those Sludge Bombs with Cut!" she commanded, making Blue question her decision-making.
*How exactly is Cut going to counter Sludge Bomb?* she thought.
The wave of toxic substance approached quickly, but Scyther prepared himself. Lifting both blades and bringing them down, he unleashed a powerful Air Slash so strong it split the toxin in two, keeping him and his teammates safe. Meanwhile, multiple Sludge Bombs were about to crash into Scyther, but the Grass-type did not flinch. Bellsprout jumped between the Bug-type and the Poison-type attack, both leaves glowing white. He swung his appendages with precision, deflecting each projectile away before landing with style.
*...Oh... like that,* Blue thought, never believing a Bellsprout would not only save someone like that but do it while looking kind of cool.
"Now, Tyrogue! Mega Punch on both of them!"
"Tyr!" said the humanoid Pokémon, rushing at the two Poison-types and knocking them both out with a powerful hook each.
Before the Rocket recruits could issue another order, they saw their Pokémon being rounded up by a pair of vines from the Grass-type. Bellsprout then hurled them all toward Team Rocket, knocking them to the ground.
"I must say, for the so-called most powerful criminal organization in both Kanto and Johto, your performance has been nothing but shameful. I'm truly disappointed, but then again, I shouldn't have expected anything from the likes of you," said Jeanette, all her Pokémon by her side.
"You know, this is the moment when a friend of mine would have called the police so they could deal with you. And if I'm honest, that's something I would normally do," said Blue, her mouth forming a malevolent grin. "Buuuuuut I feel like having a bit more fun today."
"W-What do you mean?!" asked a nervous recruit.
"Do you have anything in mind, Leaf?" asked Jeanette, intrigued.
She simply turned to Clefy and smiled wickedly. "Why don't we test their luck?" she asked, kneeling to her Fairy-type. "Oh Clefy, why don't you use Metronome on them and see what happens?" she asked politely.
Clefy looked at his trainer and, realizing what she had in mind, smiled. "Clefairy!" he said happily, approaching the now-terrified criminals.
The Fairy-type stuck his fingers in the air and started moving them back and forth. The process continued until his fingers glowed white with energy. The criminals, scared beyond belief, recalled their Pokémon as quickly as they could and tried to run. However, they were unsuccessful. Before they could move, a powerful bolt of yellow electricity descended from the heavens and struck all three of them.
They had just been on the receiving end of a Thunder attack, and before they knew it, a powerful explosion sent them high into the air. They flew beyond the city's limits, a *DING* playing as a blink of light could be seen in the sky.
"I guess you could say that Team Rocket... has taken off!" Blue quipped before stopping to think. "Team Rocket has taken off? No, that doesn't sound right."
"That was quite remarkable, Leaf!" Jeanette complimented as she approached. "You battle magnificently! You truly are a capable trainer."
"I am indeed," she said pridefully, backed up by all her Pokémon. "But I can't take all the credit today. You were pretty strong yourself."
"Why, thank you. It means a lot to be acknowledged by someone as strong as you. On any other day, I would have asked you to battle me. But I believe asking that after fighting Team Rocket would be rather unwise."
"I appreciate that. Who knows, maybe we can have a match some other time."
"Another time, huh? Like in the Indigo Plateau Conference?" Jeanette asked.
"Nice try, but as I said before, that's not my style," Blue replied.
"You can't blame me for trying. A shame, really; you could have made for an excellent rival," replied the Crimson City girl.
Just then, a crowd formed around them, all praising their local champion and the Pallet Town girl for besting Team Rocket. Cheers and admiration came from every present citizen, all directed at the two trainers and their Pokémon.
"I guess a benefit of being a local star is that you get your personal fan club."
"You know, you could get one yourself if you partook in the Pokémon League. I know you keep saying it's not your style, but who knows? Maybe it can help you in ways you never thought possible," said the girl in the pink kimono, returning both Scyther and Tyrogue to their Poké Balls, leaving only Bellsprout by her side.
"I'll keep that in mind. Just in case, but don't get your hopes up."
"Of course not; it is your decision, after all," she said before turning to the crowd and, alongside Bellsprout, bowing respectfully. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Bellsprout and I must take our leave."
"Got it. Going home, right?"
"In a way, yes. We do need to pack for our journey," said Jeanette, taking Blue by surprise.
"Leave? Journey? Where?" asked the Pallet native.
"This clash with Team Rocket has more than proven to me that perhaps my strength, alongside Bellsprout's, may have reached the sufficient level to take on the region's Gym Leaders. And once that's done, the Pokémon League as a whole," she said, turning to face Blue and her Pokémon. "I'm sorry if this is rather abrupt, but I must be going. Hopefully, we can meet once again on the roads."
"Maybe. The world is full of mysteries," she replied.
"A sentiment I can agree with. Goodbye, Leaf. I wish you the utmost success in your journey."
"Same here, Jeanette," she replied.
And so, the two girls parted ways. It didn't take long before the crowd died out, leaving Blue and her Pokémon alone. Or at least that would have been the case if not for Bill approaching them.
"I think that went well," said the young genius.
"Yep."
Before they could say another word, a man wearing a lab coat rushed to their side. He didn't look much older than Bill, so calling him a man might be stretching it. He wore a lab coat, had big rounded glasses over his blue eyes, and showed early signs of a beard.
"Seymour? What are you doing here? I thought you said you were busy," asked Bill.
"I finished what I was doing early, so I came here. You know, since you said you were here. I also heard some loud noises; is everything alright?" Seymour asked.
"Everything's been taken care of; no need to worry," Blue told the young scientist.
"Oh, you must be—" Seymour started to say but stopped upon catching a glimpse of the girl's Pokémon. More specifically, a certain pink Pokémon.
"Umm, is everything—"
"A CLEFAIRY!" he shouted, cutting Blue off. He rushed to where the Pokémon was and started observing it carefully. "Its eyes, the color of its fur! This Clefairy is a perfect specimen!" he said, making the Fairy-type feel uncomfortable. Seymour then turned to Blue, stars shining in his eyes. "Did you catch your Clefairy on Mount Moon?! If the answer is yes, did you find anything unusual?! Something that could resemble a spacecraft, perhaps?"
"A what now?" she asked, as Bill sighed, smacking his hand to his face at his friend's antics.
This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid.