Capítulo 13: Saving Ralts
Six hours had passed since we returned with the fossils. I was showered with praise for the discovery; everyone was happy; it seemed luck was on our side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw how Jackson was looking at me seriously. You don't have to analyze it much to know that he is jealous. But I was happy as a partridge. He had won two hundred thousand dollars at once as a reward from the fossil, with which a person can live austerely for the rest of his life.
"Congratulations on the discovery," Julius congratulated me.
Then Ledger, my friend, I guess, took me with the other Hector and Jack to celebrate. But before "Hey, they told me that they are going to change the battalion of the best in this group."
"Great, I came 7th; I'm sure they'll choose me."
"Ehh no, just the first four: Jackson, Julius, Garfield, and me. He looked at me, disappointed. "Damn, I guess I'm out of luck, and couldn't you recommend Marcus to me?"
"I don't know if I have the power to..."
"No, but if the first person in the group doesn't do it, no one can."
"Dude, do you remember when I took you into my group with Hector and Jack, saving your ass from Jackson? It works like that, buddy; I cover you and you cover me." I didn't like where this clear manipulation on Ledger's part was going. To start, he helped the previous Mello, one that no longer exists. But I do have a good reason to help you. And that is having an ally. It's true what he says; he covers me, and I cover him. This is how you protect yourself from many problems in life, including relationships. Out of nowhere, I came up with a plan.
"There is another fossil. In the same tunnel where we went, on the left wall you will see an x made by my Gligar. There is the fossil. Go look for it, and I will talk to Marcus." The truth is that there was another reason: he wasn't a lonely edgy like he seemed most of the time; he needed someone to talk to and build a relationship with when he wasn't with my Pokémon. I looked at how Team Rocket recruits naturally form groups and thought about where I would be if it weren't for Ledger. Ledger's ability was to be social; he knows how to play with people, which I lack right now. "Thanks, buddy; I knew I could trust you."
"Don't be late; Erick's Claydol is accumulating psychic energy; it won't take long to teleport us. Ledger later found the fossil, and I recommended it to Marcus.
"I would like to ask you a favor."
"Oh, but it's Mello, my favorite," said a drunk Marcus started celebrating the discovery of the fossil site with alcohol.
"If you're not willing now, I'll say it later."
"No, no, no, if he didn't have stamina, he wouldn't be captain of Team Rocket."
"Well, I would like to recommend Ledger to you."
"You want me to recommend the 7th, going from the 5th and 6th. That has a name, and it is called favoritism.
"Ledger was crucial in my fight with that Shiftry; he already has a Golbat; he is also a friend." Marcus looked at me with a contemplative face. "Mmm, fine, whatever, it's not the worst thing Team Rocket has done." I was surprised at how easily he agreed. Was he so respectful of me?
"Thank you," I said, bowing Japanese style.
The Claydol was already prepared to set sail, or rather teleport. "Well, now the assigned people will come with me; get into groups. Of the 32 of us (with Alex's death), we were divided into two groups of 10 and one of 12. We were the last. My group was made up of captains Erick and Marcus, the prisoner Reaven, who was conscious right now and trying to scream; he would if it weren't for the gag in his mouth, Julius, Garfield, Jackson, Ledger, Hector, Jack, me, and Jackson's two friends. In total, we would teleport to who knows where. I noticed that in our group, there were the strongest recruits from 1 to 9. They were all the ones who got Arbok, Golbats, and Raticates in addition to the exclusive Pokémon (Gastly, Poochyena, and Shuppet). I guess the strong join the strong; unconsciously, the best of the battalion has formed a group.
"Mmm." Reaven was still trying to scream red with fury.
"Shut up," Captain Erick 'calmed' him with a kick. "Well, there is a problem; one has to stay."
"Why's that?" Garfield said
"My Pokémon can only teleport 11 of us."
"And can't you stay and teleport with your Claydol later?" I asked for
"I can't; I have my agenda full," Erick answered. No one volunteered; the silence lasted a few minutes until someone cut it. And that was me.
"Are we close to Route 3 or 4?" I asked for Depending on the question, I will go for Brock or Misty. Although I still don't know if I'm in the anime or the games, I might also have to face Misty's sisters.
"Route 4"
"If I'm not mistaken, it was my turn against Misty or her sisters."
"I'll stay; I'm trying to get the 8 badges; I'll try to get back to Viridian in a week. The plan was as follows: go first through Route 4, go to the Cerulean City Gym, beat Misty (or her sisters), come back here and go through Route 3, beat Brock (or his father), and finally return to Viridian City on Route 2.
"I see, you are doing your Pokémon journey, so this is your chance; don't forget that Team Rocket is first."
"I'm just gathering strength for Team Rocket," I lied. Captain Erick nodded to me and told me to let go of my companions' hands.
"Be careful; there will be robberies in Cerulean and Pewter; there are operations to do in those cities for the supremacy of Team Rocket." Marcus warned me.
"Novices don't have to know that! Just saying to be careful was enough."
Thanks, and good luck to you too.
"This selection of rookies promises that it would be a shame if something happened to one of them." Marcus, showing why he is the best captain (if you have talent), defended me.
"Anyway, we're taking a while," Erick said, looking at me. "The exit is on your left; you'll see a staircase; be careful with the wild Zubats."
"Goodbye, brother," Ledger said.
And with that, they were gone, leaving a trail of dust in their wake. There were still recruits in this base, but none from my selection. Well, I have a medal to get.
I dropped my Pokéballs.
"Corvus, Konrad, Scorpio"
"Let's go for the second and third badges, guys."
Konrad laughed, Corvus nodded seriously, and Scorpius made a confused sign.
I guess Konrad is happy to know that we will be back in action, Corvus will take it seriously since he wants revenge for his trainer who abandoned him, and Scorpio doesn't know what a Pokémon competition is.
"I can't wait to wipe out that gym leader's Pokémon," Konrad said.
"Gligar asks, What is a gym leader and a badge? I patiently explained to the scorpion what they were as we left the cave, taking the shortcut to the stairs.
After some annoying Zubats, I finally saw the light.
I took the opportunity to analyze my team.
Shuppet LVL 27
Murcrow LVL 25
Gligar LVL 20
And with the light, I was rewarded by a good level up of my Pokémon.
"Ah, Gligar hates the sun, although before more than now," Gligar complained. He was getting used to my aura.
I forgot that he was a nocturnal creature.
In fact, all my Pokémon are, am I some kind of dark trainer? Well, in a way, I am.
Steal 3 Pokémon.
Ignoring the feeling of guilt, I prepared to continue my journey.
It was him or me. Of course, I took off the mask along with the Rocket uniform.
"Well, where to go to Route 4... I guess I'll ask the first person I see."
Finally, I joined the correct route. In this world, it is not like in the games; there are not only 8 cities; Kanto has much more to discover.
After a great session of questions, I finally rejoined the official route of the league.
After trying to capture something without success, I went to a place where there were trainers on every corner.
There was even a fight that caught my attention.
But it wasn't an epic battle, no.
A Ralts is fighting a Scizor.
It is the most uneven combat I have ever seen in my life.
And I'm not saying this based on appearances; it was obvious that Ralts was scared.
Ralts LVL 15
Gender: Female
Moves: confusion, double team, disarming voice, growl.
Skill: Trace
I hadn't learned to teleport yet, huh? It should be according to the levels.
Scizor LVL 57
Gender: Male
Moves: Pursuit, False Swipe, Fury Cutter, Bullet Punch, Slash, Razor Wing, X-Scissor, Iron Head
The fight was even more horrible, worse than I imagined.
"He's using a false swipe," I heard one of the audience members murmur.
Scizor's coach, a biker with broom bangs and a tattoo of a Gyarados on his neck, was torturing Ralts with fake smacking.
False Swipe was a move that left a Pokémon's health points always at 1 HP.
The Scizor's pincers continued beating poor Ralts, who was on the floor screaming in pain.
"I thought Pokémon didn't get hurt in combat."
"You do not know?"
"Wow." I was scared. A random guy appeared from behind me, another biker, judging by appearances, a friend of the Scizor guy.
"If you hit a Pokémon many times during a battle, it will inevitably end up bleeding. Pokémon battles normally last 1 to 5 hits, but after 20 hits, the aura stops working and physical fatigue takes its toll."
"Why do they do this?"
"The blonde boy challenged Max-Sama, champion of the Kanto conference tournament two years ago."
And that's an excuse to torture a Ralts?
"Challenge to the Elite Four?
"Yes, but she lost against Lorelei."
"Stop, don't you see you're hurting him?" A girl in the audience finally screamed.
"So? That's what happens when a rookie who hasn't even left his mother's breast challenges me without knowing anything about Pokémon. Do you know who I am, Max Shadow, winner of the Kanto tournament two years ago?"
The Ralts kid was undecided. Boy, you don't need to have analysis like me to see the difference in levels!
"Hey brother, why don't you change your Pokémon?"
"If he changes, Max has promised him that we will beat him up."
My fellow audience member laughed as if he had told a good joke.
"Stop the fight," the girl kept insisting, to no avail.
Until one of the crests of the Ralts broke There, I heard a lot of gasps from the audience, including mine, along with laughter from the group of bikers accompanying Max.
"That's what you get for being weak," I heard Scizor say.
"Shit," Max said, "the party's over; let's get out of here, hey idiots, quickly before some ranger comes."
Max returned his Scizor and got on the bike.
"It's time, you know, brother; don't challenge people who are superior to you." The biker friend next to me gave me some advice and got on the bike, sending us all up in smoke.
When all the bikers left, there were only about 10 left, counting me, of which 5 left, claiming that this was not their responsibility.
The girl who was shouting to stop, who, by the way, sounded familiar, stayed with two others.
"Why didn't you put it back in the Pokéball?" Do we have to call the Rangers or a Pokémon Center now?!" The girl screamed again, worried about the Ralts.
"It's none of your business; Ralts was weak," said the boy, crying.
"That Ralts will die; he's bleeding deeply. I don't know much about Ralts physiognomy, but that antenna is definitely important," another random guy said.
"And what could I do? They forced me; it's not my fault Ralts was so weak."
"You were a coward," I finally said. "You were afraid they would hit you, so you let them hit your Pokémon."
"And what do you know? You were also there; you could have done something."
Sorry, but no, I definitely couldn't do much against a level-57 Pokémon.
"I propose a deal," I said, seeing how Ralts was going to die at this rate. But I saw a chance for him to survive.
"And which one is it?" The boy looked at me with hatred.
"Forty thousand Pokédollars for your dying Ralts," I emphasized the word dying, "and the responsibility if he dies will fall on me, this being my Pokémon."
"Deal." I was surprised by how easily he got rid of the load, but I guess he had no choice; this Ralts was going to die.
Well, here, I gave him a big chunk of the money I got from the fossil.
It was a bargain—40,000 dollars for a Pokémon that is worth at least 500,000 on the market, according to the Pokénet.
Well, Ralts was difficult to obtain and only tamable if you were a trainer with good intentions. Still, I can't help but wonder if he would have accepted the deal for 10,000 pesos.
Once the transaction was made, obtaining the Ralts Pokéball, I took the five rare candies from my backpack.
"Are those candy?" The boy who once had a Ralts said.
"Not just any candy," I murmured.
Ralts LVL 15
If I remember correctly, Ralts evolves at level 20. As I expected, it would be very sad if he evolved at level 22.
"Eat this; you will survive."
Ralts looked at me; his anguish was infinite. I don't know what he was feeling, but his expression was unpleasant to look at.
From taking the beating of his life to being abandoned by his coach, it would be a surprise if this wasn't the worst day of his life.
Anger gnawed at me. How could Max do that to this poor creature?
Ralts probably saw my feelings with his telepathy because he listened to me. She swallowed one and saw how a blue aura enveloped her, healing the wound, then another, and so on until she reached the fifth and final candy.
Then it happened.
The evolution.
A beam of light illuminated Ralts, surprising everyone.
Ralts LVL 15 evolved into Kirlia LVL 20.
"Wow," the girl still sounded familiar to me, but I don't know what she said.
I started to look at the shape of her passed out; her new horns were fine, but I saw some asymmetries between her left horn and her right horn.
This probably prevents him from using his psychic powers correctly.
Tired, I returned it to the Pokéball to take it to a closer center.
I walked away from the group, not caring about the shocked looks from what was left of the audience.
And with that, I left with my thoughts.
What did it matter if my Kirlia couldn't learn psychic properly? Gardevoir learns Shadow Ball, lightning, fire fist, and ice fist; I'll figure it out.
While I was thinking about my new capture, I didn't realize that someone was following me.
"Hey, wait"
I turned around and saw the same girl who seemed so familiar to me, but she couldn't put her identity down.
"You need something?"
"Yeah, what were those candies? You saved that poor Ralts' life like it was nothing; you must be one of the coolest people I've ever met."
"Hey, you're strong, right? You would mind a fight after you checked Kirlia's health; do you mind if I accompany you?"
"I don't care; I'm Mello Snow, and you are?"
"Oops," she said with an arm behind her head and her tongue hanging out. "I forgot to introduce myself; my name is Hilda."
Hilda?!
What she's doing here, I already said, sounded familiar to me.
In my defense, recognizing someone you were used to seeing in an anime style was difficult.
"I'm sorry"
"Why do you apologize?"
"I could have used my Unova starter, but it's frowned upon to interrupt Pokémon battles, and I...
"I didn't know what to do if you hadn't been there."
"You don't have to apologize; everything ended well, right?"
"Yes, all thanks to you; that's why I want to fight you; you have rare items; it means you're strong, plus you're not a bastard like those guys with motorcycles."
I don't think I can win against a protagonist. I wanted to say
"I'm sorry, but it's my first year as a trainer. I got the candies by chance. I don't think I can win against an experienced trainer like you. I don't even have a Pokédex yet. I'm on my way to buy it."
"Oh," she said, disappointed. "In that case, don't worry; I'll use my Kanto team."
Mmmmm
It was not a bad deal in that case.
"I accept, but I warn you, my Pokémon bite."
"Cool!" Hilda exclaimed, "I will accompany you until you get your Pokédex and take your Kirlia to a Pokémon center. I have to add you to my contacts no matter what," she said excitedly.
It looks like I've gained a fangirl.
And thus, a beautiful friendship was born.
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