Chapter 12: CockBlocked
From Vex's perspective, Viridian City was crowded, and that was saying something as he was someone who grew up in New York, arguably one of the most populated places in the US. Crowds had been an everyday occurrence for him along with honking cars, people shouting and cursing, and the occasional homeless man or woman asking for money or holding up signs to receive food in exchange for physical labor. Not being a stranger to large groups of people, he knew how to walk around and avoid bumping into others, a veteran at traversing the the terrain of crowded bodies.
However, this was different. Everyone here moved much faster then back in his hometown and it was considerably more packed. Whether or not it was because the Bayrock festival was was only one week away, Vex was still considering.
One thing that the young man had noticed more then anything else as he walked the streets, lagging slightly behind Caitlin, Brock, and Serena whilst carrying numerous bags, was the distinct lack of cars and other forms of transportation. The few times he would actually see cars, they were mainly large delivery trucks or police officers making their rounds. He even saw a motorbike once or twice, but he never really saw any regular person driving a car. The answer to this was obvious but Vex still found it rather weird.
(("I guess the necessity for cars drops when you have pokemon that can teleport you places as well as fly.")) Vex once again felt the distinction between this world and his own as he slipped through another group of people. (("If you can get places by merely teleporting, the use of cars for short travel becomes unnecessary."))
As someone who grew up around cars, it was bizarre feeling to hardly see any when near the middle of the city, instead seeing far more bikes and motorized scooters then a major vehicle.
"Hey Vex, what are you doing lagging behind?" Serena asked, having stopped to wait for him while the others continued forward. "Are those bags too heavy? I can help if you like."
Vex shifted his gaze while he maneuvered himself through the crowd. "No its fine. I can manage for now. Its not THAT heavy." He flashed a smile, a way to cover up the white lie he had just told. Fact was that the bags were quite heavy and were the main reason he had been lagging behind.
He was holding around five shopping bags, each full of different things. Conditioner, body wash, fruits, vegetables, pokemon food, seasonings and spices, something called Tauros meat, and many other things that Vex couldn't even begin to name off the top of his head. For some reason, despite various complaints, Vex ended up being the one to hold everything while the others casually walked without a care in the world.
Vex probably would've kept carrying them, struggling along as he tried to keep up, except that one of the straps from the heaviest bag ended up breaking off, causing everything to spill onto the floor. Cans, bottles, and other items rolled in multiple directions as other people, instead of opting to help, merely stepped around and over them.
"No no, dont stop all at once," Vex muttered as he knelt down and set the bags on the ground. "Its not like it would take more then three seconds to pick one up and hand it to me. Damned faggots."
"Would you like me to help you?" A soft feminine voice captured his attention, making his head swivel towards the sound.
A mature woman with dark teal hair and fair skin was bending over slightly, amber eyes filled with concern. She wore a blue workout bra and black yoga pants with blue lining the legs, matching well with her hair and her top. Her outfit allowed Vex to see every curve and even the toned muscles she had developed which in no way took away from her general appeal, still retaining her womanly charm. She was slightly sweaty, and had a pair of headphones that were currently hanging around her neck, making it clear that she had just been out for a jog.
For some reason, she looked oddly familiar. Vex could've sworn he'd seen those eyes somewhere before, but at the same time he figured he'd remember a woman like her. She would easily be a model level beauty back in his world.
"Thanks for the hel-"
"So you opted to disappear from the police instead of offering up some details huh?" The woman asked as she knelt down to pick up a can by her feet. "A little selfish of you but I won't hold it against you. I'm off duty anyways."
With these words, it finally clicked. The reason he thought he had seen her before was because she was the officer he had seen and talked to when he first woke up from the mindscape. She had told him to report to the other police officers outside all the details that had happened, which he completely ignored, instead disappearing into the night like a certain caped crusader back in his own world. He never caught her name so he wasnt sure what to call her other then to let her know he recognized her.
Vex took the can from her as he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry miss.....um"
"Officer Jenny Linta, but you can call me Jenny if you like," Jenny said, smiling back. "And you are? I never got your name last time. To be honest, I'm just glad your okay. I watched the security tapes from the Pokemon Center and saw that you took quite a beating."
"I'm Vex Masters," Vex said after a bit of hesitation. He held out his hand in a formal gesture, attempting to be as polite as possible"Its a pleasure to meet you Jenny."
"JENNY"
Just as Jenny was about to shake Vex's hand, he was unceremoniously tugged backwards as Brock stepped forward, getting down on one knee while taking Jennys hand. Unlike the usual cool, confident, and knowledgeable figure Vex had usually seen him as, Brock had totally changed to the point where it was almost comedic. A rose was situated in his teeth and his eyes held sincerity as he held Jennys hand gently in between his own.
"Oh Jenny, how I've long missed your beauty and sweet womanly charms," Brock said, his voice changing to what he probably meant to be romantic but came out as silly. "My heart has ached for you day after day, and only now has it been appeased upon finally seeing your exquisite visage."
(("Are they a couple or is this harassment?")) Vex was a bit confused as he began to pick up some of the fallen items and placing them into some of the other nonbroken bags. (("It feels a bit embarrassing to watch. Kinda funny though."))
Brock erupted into a full blown poetic speech with a look of genuine passion on his face. Jenny just stood there with a confused and embarrassed expression on her face, indicating that she had no clue as to what was going on and was also clearly against it.
After Vex had picked everything off the ground and double checked to make sure he had everything, the white haired youth continued to observe the scene, but this time with the aura ability turned on. Various colors erupted around each and every person around, leaving Vex confused until he managed to shut off everyone else's except Brocks and Jenny.
Brocks aura was a mixture of a light purple which often meant admiration and a faint maroon color which indicated "excitement". Judging from the colors, Vex noticed that Brock harbored certain feelings which aside for admiration, was just his simple desire to mate. Vex didn't really think anything less of his teacher/friend but he did believe that Brock needed to tone things down a bit.
As for Jenny, she was just a mess of colors, most of them being negative. Colors for confusion, surprise, embarrassment, and even annoyance were prevalent in her aura. It seemed Brocks unexpected harassment wasn't really welcome in this particular case. In fact, the color of annoyance was slowly getting bigger, like a time bomb waiting to go off.
Vex made a move to step in, an attempt to save Brock from either getting slugged in the face or arrested for harassment. However, he didn't have a chance as Caitlin, who Vex hadn't been aware of, lifted Brock into the air and dragged him away. Many people who had been watching this were stunned as their eyes followed Brock and Caitlin as they moved down the street.
Vex could hear Caitlins complaints as they went. Things such as "You always do this" and "Why do you gotta embarrass not only yourself but me as well?" were askes as they disappeared into the crowd. For some reason, the white haired youth had the urge to laugh as he turned to look at Jenny, who was still frozen in place.
"Oi you okay," Vex asked as he stepped up. "You looked shocked."
Jenny seemed to come back to her senses after a while, blinking quite a number of times before finally shaking her head. "I'm fine. You'd think I'd be used to it but I'm not. I remember him from before but it doesn't erase how abrupt it was."
"Yeah, thats the first time I've seen him like that," Vex said honestly. He had no idea that Brock had such a passionate, albeit the wrong kind of passion, side to him. It was definitely a learning experience where he found out what should happen when Brock let go of all logical sense. "We have a girl in our group but he doesn't really harass her. Maybe he just has a thing for older women."
Jenny laughed a little before holding out her hand, seeming to change faces in that brief moment. "How about we start from the beginning? My name is Jenny Linta, a member of Viridan City's Police Force. Its a pleasure to meet you."
From the aura around her, Vex could see she was still slightly annoyed but he played along as if nothing had happened. "My name is Vex Masters, future champion."
Vex's response seemed to calm Jenny down a great deal as the color for annoyance shrank by nearly half while the color for joy burst into view, expanding quite a bit. "Oh really? How interesting. Would you be willing to converse more over a cup of coffee? Its on me."
"I don't really like coffee," Vex replied with a shake of his head. Jenny's color of joy shrank a bit when he said this, prompting him to add something on. "How about we have something else instead? I'll let you pick."
The aura picked right back up after this, as if informing him that he made the right decision. He wasn't even sure why he wanted to keep this lady happy, he just felt like it. He wasn't trying to make a move on her or flirt but he did want to see what would happen if he continued to speak with her as the concept of viewing emotions via auras was fascinating. Furthermore, Jenny's personality was quite simple to deal with, her aura just making it that much more easy to gain insight about what to say next.
"How about we get some lun-"
"Oi, are you friends with the lass with the abnormally long hair?" Someone passing asked, stopping momentarily and interrupting Jenny. "If you are, I recommend you help her. She's being bothered by a few older gentleman.
Vex was confused for a second but merely smiled after. "I don't think thats a problem sir. She can handle herself."
"Oh, I know that, I've seen the floating young man she's carrying behind her. I meant you best help her by preventing the murder that'll happen if they persist. Not to mention they're blocking up a sizeable portion of the walkway." With those words, the passerby walked away.
Vex sighed before turning around and running away. Before he could fully get into it though, his beanie was pulled off his head, causing him to stop.
"Hold on, let me come with you." Jenny said as she held onto the beanie. "It'll be more convincing for an officer to be with you."
"Aren't there officers all over the place?" Vex asked curiously as Jenny walked ahead of him, her pace turning into a brisk jog. Many people made way for both her and Vex as they took off. "Why doesn't one of them help?"
"Unless they actually break a law, the other officers cant step in," Jenny said as she tossed Vex's beanie back. "Its an annoying part of the system that many exploit. As ling as the woman doesnt complain about harassment, the officers cant do anything about it."
"Doesn't that mean flashing people would be okay?" Vex countered, clearly joking.
"You seem a bit goofy yet I know you're smart. Don't be an idiot." Jenny still smiled though as they jogged forward, finally reaching the spit where Caitlin was after a few minutes.
The trio had actually made it quite far, much farther then Vex had originally thought. They apparently hadn't stopped for anymore supplies, instead merely touring around and gazing at stores. Finding them was rather easy too as many people had formed a rather large circle around them, some watching while others went about their business.
Brock was still hanging in the air, now actually looking a bit comfy, having returned to his normal calm demeanor. Serena stood off to the side with her pokemon partner Fennekin out his pokeball and sitting beside her.
Smack dab in the middle of the circle, surrounded by three rather handsome (No homo) men, was Caitlin, who was staring at them with a calm expression. To everyone else it might have looked like she was taking everything in stride, but to Vex, it was a look he had seen constantly during the two week crash course, one that meant she was preparing for the kill. She was about to cause some serious damage to the idiots who couldn't even recognize an Elite Four member at a single glance.
"Tch," Vex said as he charged forward, leaving Jenny behind as he busted into the encirclement.
He had to stop her from causing any lasting damage. Self Defense only went so far, especially if you were to throw the first punch, or in this case, psychic attack.
"Just in time," Vex heard Caitlin mutter as he slowed to a stop right beside her. "Here he is boys, the one your going to have to fight. If you win, I'll consider going on a date with you idiots."
"You want us to battle a kid?" The guy in the middle asked, a condescending smile on his face. "Why bother? Lets just skip to the part where we hang out and have some 'fun'."
The middle guy reached out his hand towards Caitlin, but it stopped in the middle of the air, as if stopped by an invisible wall. No matter how hard he tried to push, he was unable to move even a single finger towards the blonde haired woman. After a while, with a red face, he gave up and lowered his hand.
Caitlin smiled, her eyes flashing with amusement. "As I was saying before, if you win against the kid, I'll entertain the idea of going on a date with you. Normally I dont date young boys or weak men but I'll make an exception just this once. Defeat my student and we can have the 'fun' you mentioned earlier."
The three men looked over at Vex and, after gazing at him for a few seconds, began to laugh amongst themselves.
"This kid wont last five minutes against even one of us. He's clearly a rookie." The first guys shook his head, his weirdly cut black hair flopping around.
"Look at the bright side, at least it'll be a quick match," the middle man said, causing another round of laughter.
Meanwhile, as the three of them were joking, Vex was still wrapping his head around the idea of battling three grown men all at once. He had only come over here to stop a potential murder, not fulfil a stupid challenge that was thrown out of nowhere. On top of that, there wasn't even any benefit to him winning except maybe practicing against some fellow trainers, but even that wasn't satisfactory to him. He didn't want to give these douchebags the satisfaction of victory and he sure as hell didn't want them to taunt him when he refused.
Vex sighed, stepping up to Caitlin and dropping his voice to a whisper. "Excuse me blondie, what exactly are you doing?"
"Testing you," Caitlin answered simply. "These buffoons aren't very strong in my opinion so it should be easy. Just think of it as another training session."
"What happens if I lose?" Vex asked Curiously.
Caitlin merely smiled. Vex didn't even need to see her aura to know just the thought of him losing annoyed her. "You bette not."
"Gotcha. So what about if I win?" Vex responded, smiling. "You gonna let me take you on a date?"
"Ha ha," Caitlin said, shaking her head. "You're truly the god of comedy. I don't think I'd ever date you,unless you were older and could beat me in a match. Until then, keep dreaming kid."
Vex shrugged as he pulled a pokeball off his belt, one that Serena had bought for him a few days ago. It held both Pikachu's pokeball and Squirtle's, allowing him to freely access them whenever he wanted. Pikachu didn't really like going into his pokeball, but after threatening to stop Brock from giving him the good food and giving constant promises to maintain the psychic connection between them, he finally went inside.
"Fine lets do this," Vex muttered as he enlarged the ball. (("Whats your take on this Pikachu, Squirtle? You interested?"))
(("Of course")) Pikachu Said
(("Bring on the blood")) Was Squirtle's response
"Alright kid, we'll take you on," the middle man said after he finished laughing it up with his friends. "I'll even give you an advantage. I'll only use my weakest pokemon. My friends will do the same if you manage to beat me. Sound fair?"
"Ugh, whatever. Lets just get on with it." Vex pressed the button and opened the pokemon, a flash of light leaked out and landed on the ground before taking the form of Squirtle. "I'll be fair and only use Squirtle when fighting you. Lets see how you do."
"Pft, as if you could do anything else except struggle," the middle man said as he pulled out a pokeball of his own. "Come on out Cubone!!"
As the guy threw out his pokemon, Caitlin walked away from the center of the circle, setting Brock down near the edge. She had already set the stage, there was no longer a reason for her to act as bait. Her plan had worked much better then she had expected, hooking not only one horny guy, but three who were all willing to challenge Vex to a match. However, there was one factor she had overlooked and that was Officer Jenny, one ofnthe highest ranked officers in the Viridian City Police Force.
Of course, Jenny in no way threw a wrench in her plans, instead actually helping it.
"Hey, hold it right there," A cop yelled as three uniformed officers rushed over, breaching the wide circle made by the crowd. "You're not allowed to battle here."
"Shit." Vex just now remembered one of the laws involving battles. If you weren't battling in a designated area then it was illegal unless you had the consent of a leading authority. If he started battling here, he'd only be making an enemy of the police.
"Its okay men, stand down," Jenny said as she calmly walked over to Vex, startling not only the white haired youth but the officers as well. "I'm here."
The running officers stopped, their eyes fixating on Jenny for a moment before giving a slight bow of respect. It was this that made Vex realize just how big of a deal Jenny really was, able to easily cause other officers to stand down with just a few words. And she wasn't even on duty.
"You guys can go back to patrolling." Jenny stopped and glared at the three men, of which couldn't even look her in the eye. "I'll oversee this duel."
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