บท 42: Officer Jenny
"Red, wake up!"
A voice echoed near his ear, prompting him to open his eyes. Before him stood Brock, Misty, Leaf, and Pikachu, all looking at him with concern.
"He's awake!"
"Thank goodness..."
Pika pika!
Pikachu immediately leaped onto Red's face, hugging him tightly, which startled him into standing up.
"Are you okay?"
As Red pulled Pikachu away from his face, Officer Jenny approached to inquire.
It seemed the explosion had caught the attention of the nearby officer.
"..."
"That's good. Also, thanks to you, we've managed to apprehend a large number of Team Rocket members here," Jenny smiled, expressing her gratitude.
Meanwhile, the other players were...
"Hey, wake up, wake up, wake up," Rey repeatedly slapped Lukas, who was unconscious.
"You fuck, if you don't wake up, I'm never buying you that Spiderman outfit you like!"
Hearing the word Spiderman, Lukas' eyes shot open, and he suddenly stood up, knocking heads with Rey.
"AGHH, YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU GET UP SO SUDDENLY?!"
"Ich habe gerade geträumt, dass meine Schwester mich in den Keller gebracht hat!"
"Speak English, man."
Lukas looked around and saw many police officers, most of them Jenny, along with other players.
Some had already stood up, holding their heads, while a few others were still out cold.
"What just happened?"
"Idiot, did you lose your memory or something?"
"No way, I remember fighting the fat guy, right?"
"And then?"
"Uhm... I watched a movie with him, a porn movie."
"You've got to be kidding me."
Rey sighed as Bob and Lily approached.
Lily looked overjoyed, seemingly having caught a Pokémon, while Bob was worse for wear, probably from swallowing too much water in the pond.
"Hey, look, the mission was a success, and we've got our rewards!"
"Too bad only the top three get anything."
"Are you kidding me? I got my arm broken by that rock Pokémon, and I get no reward?!"
"You're in the top three."
"Never mind, forget I said anything."
Lily was top 1 for rescuing the Clefable and Cleffa, and her reward was a bell.
Rey was top 2 for leading the players and received a map of the Kanto region.
Lukas was top 3, having punched a lot of people, and got three Poké Balls as his reward.
"Wait, why are my rewards so normal?" Lukas confused over the three red Poké Balls.
"You should feel lucky; at least you got something for free," Rey chuckled while examining the Kanto map.
The Kanto region wasn't too large, so the map was relatively small. Lily looked at the bell, not knowing its use, but it looked nice, perfect for decorating her Pokémon.
Cleffa would be the best fit for this bell!
Both Rey and Lily were pleased, though they were unaware that their rewards had been taken from Red.
But it couldn't be helped; rewards were necessary, or the players would certainly cause a riot...
"The Pokémon captured by Team Rocket were mostly wild, so we'll be releasing them back into the wild," Jenny announced to everyone.
"We value the freedom of Pokémon, so please do not catch them."
The players were disappointed, they wanted to capture those Pokémon, as some looked quite appealing.
"Cerulean City is nearby. Would you all like us to take you there?" Jenny offered.
After all, they had captured Team Rocket thanks to these kids, and besides, they were all young (only ten years old), so it was good to lend them a hand.
Oh, and there would be money, too—trainers without money will have a tough time on their journey.
No one objected, as everyone was exhausted.
"RED!"
A girl's voice called out, making Red turn his head. Hilda was hugging her mother, looking at Red.
"Thank you... will we meet again?"
Hearing this, Red smiled and waved at Hilda. Hilda, in turn, smiled back.
In three years, she would be eligible to become a trainer, and by then, Red would be 13 years old...
Not too late! I must be patient!
From that moment, young Hilda was determined to become a trainer as soon as possible.
"Red, why is it that every time I look away, there's a new girl liking you?" Leaf smiled at Red.
"...?"
After escorting all the Team Rocket members, Jenny called for a bus to take everyone away.
A few minutes later, the bus arrived.
"Wow, this bus looks even fancier than the ones in real life."
"I wonder what it's like inside?"
The players chatted among themselves, but Jenny's clapping quickly quieted them down.
"To thank you all, I'd like you to come to the nearest officer station, where I'll be giving you a monetary reward as a token of my appreciation!"
The players cheered at this, thinking this might be the reward for an emergency quest!
Initially, only a few players received rewards, causing envy and a sense of injustice among the others.
But not anymore! Money is the best thing!
Red silently thanked Officer Jenny, as he currently had nothing to offer the players himself.
Everyone grabbed their bags, suitcases, and backpacks, placing them under the bus.
"...?"
Red felt his backpack getting warm, which was odd since he had just fallen into a lake—it should have been cold!
He opened the backpack, only to find Charmander sleeping peacefully inside.
...
Huh? When did you get in here?
Others noticed as well, surprised at the sight.
Jenny approached and realized that this Pokémon was one of the wild ones from the cages they had unlocked.
When they had unlocked the cages, Charmander had run off.
Who would've thought it would end up in this boy's backpack?
"It seems that Pokémon likes you. You really haven't changed at all, Red," Leaf continued to smile at Red.
Why do you keep smiling at me?... It's just a Pokémon.
Pikachu glanced at Red with a very "friendly" look.
You too, Pikachu...
Red felt misunderstood.
Charmander opened its eyes, yawned, rubbed its eyes, and looked around.
When it saw Red, it joyfully roared and jumped up to hug his face.
???
First Pikachu, and now you're hugging my face too??
Everyone was happy to see how fond Charmander was of Red, except for Leaf and Pikachu.
"This Charmander really likes you. Why not catch it?" Brock suggested.
"…"
Red wanted to catch Charmander, not because it was rare or strong, but because it felt like fate...
Red threw a Poké Ball at Charmander, and it was more than willing to be caught.
As soon as the ball captured Charmander, it didn't even need to wiggle—the ball stayed still from the moment Charmander was caught.
Seeing this, Red was overjoyed and picked up the ball, striking a pose!
Alright, that was a bit embarrassing...
Lukas watched Red, then glanced at his Croconaw.
Gah?
"Wanna kiss?"
Gah??
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