Hard Enough - Chapter 109 - Interlude - Encounters around the pokemon world (Patreon)

Forrest looked straight ahead and tried to ignore what was going on behind him. Ash was loudly opening and shutting his mouth, while Misty was glaring Ash into silence.

This hadn’t been how he’d thought he’d be setting out. He always imagined it would be with his entire family seeing him off and his team fully assembled, ready to make waves throughout Kanto. That had always been the dream, to stick around until Mum came home and then give it some time to settle before he went on his journey.

Only, it hadn’t gone that way at all, had it?

Instead, he had to leave because of something stupid that wasn’t his fault but should have been something he avoided. At least, he thought he should have. All he had to do was be firmer with the guys back home. Instead, he’d wavered. He’d had an idea they were spray painting stuff around the City but he hadn’t realised they’d gone further than that into outright theft.

Forrest chewed his lips. If they’d felt secure enough to steal Officer Jenny’s bike then what else had they felt confident enough to do?

He really hadn’t known them as well as he thought he did. He certainly hadn’t been expecting them to turn on him… No, the sad part was probably that he wasn’t all that surprised to learn they were putting the blame on him. Forrest wasn’t sure that creep Will even would have had to be involved.

Forrest shuddered when he remembered how furious Brock had been when he heard Will’s voice. He’d never known Brock could make a face so cold and rigid.

“Forrest, you alright?” Misty asked, stepping in and peering at him.

He sighed. “Yeah, just… Thinking about stuff I guess.”

“Well, that’s good! If you need to talk, I’m here,” she said easily.

He glanced at her and found her watching him. He smiled halfheartedly at her, and she smiled back.

He felt like he should have enjoyed that more, but for the life of him, he couldn’t work out why that was. He trudged along in silence trying to get the answer.

She was watching him. Which was good. He liked her looking at him. But, it was the way she was looking at him. It wasn’t in admiration but in pity and worry. It felt like she was watching him cause she expected to see him trip. Like he was fragile.

He didn’t want to be fragile. He wanted… he wanted to be like Brock. Brock could be immovable and know where he was going. He always knew where he stood and Forrest… didn’t have that.

Brock had mentioned it before when they’d gone hiking or been taking care of pokemon together. He’d said it stemmed from knowing yourself and what you wanted. Plans were goals with the steps mapped out.

The problem so far was that he didn’t know who he was now. Things had changed so rapidly he felt like… well it felt like he’d built up on faulty ground. You could walk on it, thinking it was firm for ages only for it to one day collapse under you. Then you’d need someone to bail you out.

That’s why you tested the ground you were on when hiking with poles or had different grips ready when climbing a mountain.

Forrest chewed his lip. That… kinda made sense.

He rubbed his forehead. Which would mean he needed to…Urgh! He wasn’t sure where he was going with now.

“Charmander! Char!” said a pokemon in front of him. Forrest blinked.

“What’s a Charmander doing out here?” Ash said stepping forward.

“This isn’t the right terrain for them,” he said, remembering what he’d learnt about them from Brock.

“Why’s that?” Misty said as Ash jogged up closer.

“Charmander’s pokemon line prefer dry climates such as deserts, arid planes or light but robust forests that can handle them walking through it.” He pointedly glanced around at the pathway that was densely packed with vegetation that was yellow and brown in some patches that would go up if Charmander was to walk through it.

“So… what’s that mean?” Ash said.

Forrest glanced at the flame on its tail and scowled. “Nothing good.” He shook his head and dropped the scowl, instead adopting a small, toothless smile that was as neutral as he could go. “Hello there Charmander! I’m Forrest from Pewter city!”

“I’m Ash from Pallet Town!” said Ash loudly while pointing a thumb at himself. On his shoulder, Pikachu waved before hopping off and approaching the fire type cautiously.

“Misty,” said Misty with a small bow.

“Char-mander,” said the little reptile, giving them all a searching look before laying down.

Forrest chewed his lip unsure what to do. Ash glanced up at the sky and down at the little charmander. “Pikachu, can you ask him how long he’s been out here?”

Misty tilted her head. “Why not ask him yourself?" Most pokemon can understand us when we talk can’t they?”

Forrest spoke up, “No, it’s a good idea Ash. Most pokemon are more open with other pokemon. Especially if the pokemon has a reason to be a little bit more suspicious of a human.”

“Hmmm? What do you mean?” Ash said now glancing at Charmander worriedly.

Misty gasped and her eyes widened. “Oh! I see! You think someone abandoned it here.”

Ash lurched back. “What? Who’d ditch a Charmander?”

“Someone that doesn’t care about their pokemon,” said Forrest as he recalled a trainer that had fought against him with… He released his Onix and it shook its head before lowering itself to Charmander.

“Onnnnnn!” shouted Onix in greeting.

Charmander stood and growled lowly, its tail flickering feebly. Ash whirled on Forrest. “Hey! What are you doing? You’re scaring it!”

Forrest shook his head. “No, I wanted to confirm something. You were Damian’s Charmander weren’t you. You faced Onix before. You remember him, don’t you?”

Charmander nodded and glared sternly ahead. Forrest smiled. “Yeah, you weren’t going to have much of a chance against Onix back then. Damian was pretty stupid to send you out when he—”

“Char! CHAR! CHARMANDER! CHA—” Charmander cut Forrest off only to be in turn cut off when he gasped and shook. Small embers burst out of his mouth that he hacked up with a faint cry of pain.

Forrest stepped forward, his backpack swinging around so he could rifle through it. “Ahah! Here we go!” he said as he pulled out a book.

“Common pokemon maladies?” Ash read aloud off the title. Forrest nodded, not saying anything as he flipped through the pages.

“What are you looking for?” Misty asked leaning in.

Forrest paused on the Charmander page. “This,” he said tapping a section. “When a Charmander doesn’t receive proper nutrition, their lungs can weaken leading to a weaker Ember and weaker Flamethrower until their intake improves. Recommended foods include spicy meals with lots of natural oils.” Forrest returned to his backpack, pulling some berries and cooking oil out to place into a bowl.

Charmander turned his nose up at it only for his stomach to growl.

Forrest inched forward, bowl still held out. “Pllllleeassse Charmander? You need this to get your health back.”

This made Charmander reconsider the food. Pikachu cheekily appeared on the other side and made a show of grabbing a piece for himself causing charmander to growl and push his snout into the food and begin devouring the food.

“Hehehe, nice one Pikachu!” Forrest said to the little yellow mouse. Ash shot it a thumbs up.

“Pika!” said Pikachu with a wink before popping the piece of food he had stolen into his mouth. Then he stiffened up and exhaled like he was trying to breathe fire. Forrest chuckled, and Charmander looked up and stiffened as it realised how close it was to them, only to decide to not leave the food until it was done.

They all stayed close and quiet as Charmander finished his meal. Misty fidgetted but soon enough Charmander was done and back to his rock in the middle of the road.

Forrest chewed his lip at that before turning and gesturing for the others to lean in close. “Hey guys, we can’t leave Charmander here. He needs more food and some medicine to clear up any further issues he has.”

“Other issues?” Ash said peering at the curled up Charmander. He eyed the rock and the area around it. “How long has he been out here?” he asked, eyeing some melted parts of the rock.

Forrest shrugged. “I think he’s been out here for a day and a night at least… which isn’t as bad for a fire type but exposure will get him if he stays here.”

“But, that’s not what you’re worried about?” Misty prompted.

“No, this area is pretty rife with Pidgeotto and Spearow, both of which are territorial. Even some of the grass type pokemon aren’t going to like having Charmander around.” Forrest glanced over his shoulder. “Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if a trainer tried to catch him and ended up driving him into the shrubs…”

“Oh, that’d be bad,” Ash said cupping his chin in thought. “What should we do? Catch him ourselves?”

Forrest rubbed his chin slowly. “We’d need to get him to a pokemon centre and checked over. As an abandoned pokemon he can have his pokeball deactivated with a process they have, or if we encounter Damian…” Forrest clenched his fists. “We’ll sort him out.”

Ash nodded. “So first we have to get Charmander to leave with us…”

Forrest rubbed his chin before perking up. “Say Ash! Didn’t we meet Damian a while ago?” he said loudly.

Ash tilted his head but then realised what Forrest was getting at when Charmander perked up. “Oh! Yeah! Yeah we did!”

Misty blinked. “Oh right! He asked us to find his Charmander and lead him to the pokemon centre cause he messed up!” Forrest gave her a gesture to ‘cool it’ which she rolled her eyes at. Charmander was already off his rock and tugging at Forrest’s pants and pointing to himself.

“Char! Charmander! Char?” said the little lizard. Forrest made a show of considering it before nodding.

“Yeah! We want to take you to Damian! Can you walk with us?” The little lizard nodded quickly and Forrest shot Ash, Misty, and Pikachu a thumbs up before he paused and considered his pokemon. “Who wants to ride in style?” he asked, pointing towards his starter.

Soon enough, they were all seated on the large rock snake and racing towards the nearest pokemon centre.

Misty tapped Forrest on the shoulder. “Why didn’t we do this yesterday?”

Forrest coughed. “It uhm… slipped my mind… also isn’t it traditional to walk?”

Misty huffed. “I think I can deal with some sore legs from riding a snake rather than sore legs from walking for hours if we get more chance to do other things each day!”

Forrest nodded before he considered what Misty just said. He looked away from her and coughed. “Yeah let’s all ride your Onix to save time from now on Forrest!” chimed Ash.

Forrest shuddered as the mental image he’d had changed with the inclusion of Ash. Urgh.

Thankfully, it only took ten minutes of riding Onix to reach the next pokecentre. Charmander and Pikachu hopped off with happy cries while Ash tumbled. Misty received a hand from Forrest and he got a smile and thank you as she slid off daintily.

When they entered the pokemon centre they paused in the entrance at the number of trainers present. Forrest spotted Damian sitting on the nearby couches that had their backs to the door.

Charmander perked up and started running towards Damian. Only for Damian’s voice to carry, “Heh! Powerful pokemon are the way to go. You need to make sure you catch good ones straight up! Thanks to the scanning feature on my pokedex, I can pick up on pokemon with great potential! I scanned the pokemon Oak gave me, and he must have given me a dud Charmander! It was soooo weak!”

Charmander stopped just behind Damian and stared up in shock as he continued, unmindful and uncaring of those who heard him. “I ditched it in the wilds if anyone wants it!”

Another trainer that had been listening sat up. “Are you like… an idiot or something? You ditched a Charmander? In the wilds?”

“What of it?” said Damian, glancing at the trainer that wasn’t part of his group.

The other trainer shook his head. “Just amazed at how stupid you are. Charmander’s are great pokemon, anyway, all traditional starter pokemon start off weak and grow with the trainer. If Charmander was weak it was your fault!”

The raised voices had drawn the attention of everyone in the room and everyone was now watching with interest.

“Get lost! No one asked you!” Damian said only for Charmander to have apparently heard enough. The little lizard whirled around and ran from Damian, tearing up only for Ash to sweep him up. “Hey, let’s get out of here little guy,” he said turning and marching out of the Centre.

Forrest and Misty came with him both of them watching on as Ash comforted Charmander. When it finally regathered itself Ash set it down and knelt. “Hey, I’m sorry about Damian… turns out he’s a bigger idiot than we thought...But, just cause he doesn’t want you doesn’t mean you’re not worth something though. You’re a really great pokemon for anyone to have.”

“Charmander?” the pokemon looked up with watery eyes and shook his head.

Forrest nodded, “Hey! Trainers are lucky to get a Charmander you realise? You? You’re small now, but you just need time to grow. By the time this circuit ends I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a super strong Charizard if you wanted to be!”

Charmander nodded its head before opening a hand, it’s head swiveling from Ash to Forrest “Charmander?” it asked with watery eyes.

Forrest blinked. Was Charmander asking him if he wanted to be his trainer? Forrest remembered a time when he’d been really young. Before even Brock had left, he’d asked which starter was best and Brock had said any of them were good, but he remembered Brock saying Charmander was the coolest. Forest’s… old friends… had agreed with him when he’d asked them at school the next day. For a month then, he’d thought of getting himself a Charmander as a starter only for him to realise he’d get something like an Onix or Geodude. If he’d asked though… he could have had one… couldn’t he? Brock had the connections after all.

Forrest opened his mouth only for Ash to speak up first. “Sure thing Charmander! With you on my team we can go all the way!”

Forrest shut his mouth. Right, yeah that worked out better didn’t it? He was going to be a Rock type specialist, wasn’t he? Only to watch on as Ash captured the pokemon, a stirring in his heart like he’d missed out on an opportunity… another one. His mind retreated back to Brock offering him Terra’s egg first.

Ash stood and Charmander walked at his side as they made their way back into the pokemon center. Only to walk into a tense situation with the trainer from before glaring at Damian while Damian glared back. The room took notice of their entrance this time, the hiss of the doors opening during a lull apparently.

Damian saw them and sniffed, his eyes falling on Charmander, “Oh, you found my pokemon whoopie, I’d misplaced it,” he said flatly.

Ash clenched his fists and stepped forward a fist rising. “I was in here before and Charmander and I heard everything you said! You don’t deserve Charmander. I want him! Give him to me.”

“Nah, I’ve heard how much they’re worth!” Damian said sneering towards the trainer that had reprimanded him before and who had been arguing with him moments ago. The white haired boy scowled at his words being used in such a way.

Ash’s mouth twitched before he nodded. “How much do you want for him?”

Damian grinned gleefully and Misty and Forrest turned in surprise at what Ash was saying. Forrest knew Ash wasn’t that well off, in fact of all of them… he had the best funding… “Ash! You can’t pay him after what he did!”

Ash held up a hand. “How much?”

“...one… no! Two hundred thousand pokedollars!” said Damian with glee.

Ash’s fists clenched hard and he arm twitched. He started to move to draw out his wallet only for Forrest to put a hand on his shoulder and step forward. “Don’t do it Ash.”

“Forrest! I’m not leaving Charmander with Damian!”

Forrest nodded. “And you shouldn’t, but I just remembered something.” He turned on Damian, “I just remembered that I’m still registered as an official Pewter Gym trainer.” He fished out his own wallet and flashed the id to show his name, face and details. This was not a simple id, but rather one that identified him as being deputised for certain duties.

“... oh? I remember you, you’re that punk that cheated with a too-strong Onix!” Damian said with a snap of his fingers, spotting the boulder badge symbol next to Forrest’s picture.

Forrest hummed. “That’s how it seemed to you, I’m sure, but I bring this up because before Ash pays you anything… I have to fine you.”

“What?” said multiple voices in surprise. Forrest blinked, had he just heard a man laugh and clap once? He shook it off ignoring the urge to see who’d done that. Forrest smiled, feeling like, as Brock would say, the Meowth slinking into the cream factory.

“You abandoned a fire-type pokemon with an open flame in a highly flammable environment instead of transferring it back to Professor Oak like you should have. This endangered the local environment, pokemon, and people that might have been passing through. That comes with a fine.” Forrest smiled. “But there’s also the issue of pokemon abuse. You see, the way you abandoned your pokemon, also comes with a fine attached to it.”

“Fine! Just take the stupid defective thing!” Damian said tossing a pokeball with a flame etched into it at Forrest.

Forrest stabbed his finger into Damian’s chest. “I think you still need to be fined! So that way it’s on your record that you’re a terrible trainer!”

Damian enlarged a pokeball. “I’m not a terrible trainer and I can prove it! That Charmander is just defective!”

Before Forrest could respond, the local Nurse Joy suddenly appeared between them. “Please! No fighting with pokemon to resolve personal conflicts! It’s not the way it’s done!” she said.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at her. Forrest tilted his head only for the white-haired trainer that had been harassing Damian to cough into his fist and mutter. “Since when?”

Joy flushed. “No pokemon battles in the centre I mean!”

“Ohhhh!” everyone said in understanding.

Damian sniffed and returned his pokeball. “Well, you can’t make me pay a fine then cause I’m just going to split!”

He pushed past Forrest causing Forrest to almost step on Charmander who’d been behind him and Ash throughout all of this. Charmander snarled and lashed out with his tail causing Damian to hop back and knock Misty backwards. She cried out and Forrest turned to growl at Damian only to realise Damian had pushed his hand into Misty’s chest to stay standing.

Forrest clenched his fist and started to turn only for Misty’s hands to snap onto Damian’s and an evil glint to shine from her eyes. “Nurse Joy only said we can’t fight with our pokemon.” Then she raised her fist and sent Damian soaring backwards.

She didn’t leave it at that though, and knelt on Damiain’s chest before he could understand what was happening; he was being pummeled by an enraged Misty. “This is for Charmander! And this is for those things you said! And this is because it’s a Tuesday!” she roared.

“Wuh? Does! That! Have! To do with anything?!” wailed Damian as Misty pummeled him.

Forrest stiffened. Oh wow, she was incredible… and scary. He wasn’t sure how those two went together, but they did.

Nurse Joy made a show of slowly dialing for the police. “Hello? What’s that it will take you an hour to get here? Oh, don’t worry then. They’ll have sorted themselves out by then,” she said before hanging up.

The same laugh and polite clap rang out. Forrest looked away from the beating, expecting to find an older suit-wearing gentleman. He was right about it being an older man… but he wasn’t that old…

Forrest and the silver-haired man locked eyes and Forrest knew, without knowing how or why, that this man was strong. Stronger than anyone he’d ever seen before. Forrest blinked in surprise. Was he stronger than Brock even?

The man nodded politely. Forrest wasn’t sure what to make of that. He turned his attention back to Damian who Misty was now done with. He already had a pair of black eyes and looked wretched. It didn’t stop Forrest from officially lodging a report against him and what he’d done. He said the fine had been paid through community service on the report to the police.

Damian wouldn’t have to pay any money but people would know what he’d done. Heck, Professor Oak would most likely revoke his pokedex for this.

When he was done he returned to his friends and watched Ash pet his latest acquisition enviously. If he’d just… A polite cough shook him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see the silver-haired gentleman from early smiling at him.

“Well done with handling that situation. I have to admit I was considering stepping in but you had it handled…” He eyed Misty and her hands. “Very aptly at that.”

Misty blushed and Forrest chuckled only for Misty to shoot him a look that had him shutting up. Forrest turned his attention back to the silver-haired man. “Well thanks I guess?” He tilted his head. “You look familiar…”

The man chuckled and waved a hand. “Oh, I get that all time. He waved a hand. “I’m not all that interesting. Actually, I’m just a humble man passing by for the local mountains.”

“Fan of the mountains?” Forrest said feeling like he should be asking about the man’s name for some reason. But, the man had said that wasn’t important hadn’t he? He decided not to press. It didn’t matter. Even if his face looked oddly familiar.

The white-haired boy from earlier stepped up, staring at the man. “Wait, Are you—”

The man waved his hand again. “Quite busy talking to my new friends right now.” The boy stiffened for a moment, blinked as though he wasn’t sure what he’d been doing only to then nod and walk off with a dazed expression.

Forrest opened his mouth to ask what that had been about only to decide not to push when the man smiled at him. “I was rather impressed… and more than a little entertained by the show that was put on.” He hummed. “You know, too often good behaviour passes us by unrewarded… I think… no, I know you’d do well given the chance young man.” he raised a simple pokeball. “Take this pokemon young man, I’m curious as to how you develop in the future.”

Forrest looked down at the pokeball. “You’re giving me a pokemon?”

“Yes, yes I am. I’m eccentric like that!” said the silver haired man, turning and walking off.

Forrest stood, “Wait a second I don’t even know your name! I have to thank you for this!”

“No you don’t that’s the point of a gift!” The man waved over his shoulder. “And my name is Steven!”

“Thanks Steven!” shouted Forrest at the man’s back as he walked towards Mt Moon. He sat back down with Ash and Misty. They both stared at the doors.

Ash frowned and he tilted his head. Then he sat bolt upright. “Was that Steven Stone! Champion of Hoenn!?”

A groan made them look to the side and spot the boy from earlier. “Urgh! I knew it! Damn it my own region’s Champ and I flubbed it!”

Forrest stared, open-mouthed. “How did I not recognise him? I have his poster, and his fight with Karen is coming up soon!”

The boy rubbed his forehead. “Steven has this… way of avoiding people’s attention when he doesn’t want it. He somehow just… skates under your notice or you have more important things to deal with.”

Forrest tilted his head. How would he do something like that? Ash nudged him. “What did he give you?”

Forrest released his pokemon and stared as a Beldum revealed itself.

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Jay set up his stall near the end of gorge of route one hundred and eleven. It was a good spot for people coming up from Mauville City. he liked it for the view, which was particularly good with the Hoenn desert currently experiencing a rather intense sandstorm.

“Morning Jay!” called a Ranger as he moved to his post in front of a large sign.

“Morning!” Jay said waving back as he finished setting up his stall. The Ranger came over and looked over Jay’s produce before picking out some berries for people and their pokemon. Jay took the man’s money and glanced at the sign. “Think you’ll start to see many trainers today?” he asked probingly.

The Ranger sighed. “Lots of people went to Kanto this year so trainer numbers are down but I think this week will see some more people shooting through here and heading north towards Fallarbor Town or coming to us.”

“They should have the badge restriction now no? It’s been a whole month,” Jay said worryingly. His sales were well down for the circuit so far and he was projecting sales to stay that way. Which, wasn’t the end of the world for him. This was just something he did in his retirement these days. He grew berries at his home and set up his stall to get out from under the feet of his wife.

Others around hoenn were going to feel the pinch however. There had been much grumbling about it of late but that was something for the League and Steven to handle. Not old man Jay and his simple stall along route one eleven.

He set up his chair under an umbrella, sat and raised his book to start idling the day away. Across from him the Ranger sighed and stood near the sign that state you needed at least two badges to go through the desert.

Occasionally, the Ranger would pull out some binoculars and glance at pokemon flying overhead to make sure that no-one was being too clever. Trainers always thought they might be the first to consider using a flying type to evade a barrier.

Jay liked this spot, plenty of entertainment on busy days.

A noise made him look up to see a cheeky Cacnea approaching his stall slowly, its eyes on his berries. Jay popped open a pokeball and his old friend Torkoal appeared with a cry of its name, scaring off the Cacnea. Torkoal came and sat near him and Jay returned to reading his book, keeping an ear out for anything different as he did so.

Around lunch time, with the sun blaring down overhead, the sandstorm ended and Jay could see further out into the desert. He could see the shifting sands, the moving dunes, and the shimmering mirages that sometimes tricked people into seeking out the heart of the desert.

He squinted as a shape appeared.

“Hey, Ranger? That a pokemon or a person?” he asked causing the Ranger to jerk up from the sandwich he’d been munching on. The man spun about and raised his binoculars.

“Huh, got a trainer coming in… with a Trapinch?” said the man, lowering his binoculars.

It took a few minutes but eventually the shape resolved itself into the form of a young girl, her body covered by a large hat with a scarf around her face, googles about her eyes and a poncho over her shoulders to cover her body.

At her side a small trapinch marched along resolutely.

When she reached Jay, the Ranger across from Jay’s stall coughed. “Hello Miss! I’m sorry to—”

The girl raised a hand and stopped the Ranger before lifting out a waterbottle and draining it with long fluid gulps. When she was done she gasped. “Whew! Sorry about that! I’d been holding out with the last of my water to make the trek so I could pick up anything that changed! That place shifts around a lot!”

Jay nodded his head. “The Hoenn desert is a dangerous place indeed young lady. Well done on traversing it!”

The girl tilted her head. “Traversing it? I’ve been there for three weeks now?”

Jay blinked. The Ranger leaned forward. “Did you get the required two badges before entering? Or skip over the blockade?”

“I came in through Slateport and got the minor Gym for Dockyard badge, and then fought Wattson for the Dynamo badge during the first week!” said the girl as she started to pluck her desert wear off. She shook out her ginger hair and shuddered. “Urgh! I can’t wait to get a shower!” She shook and a cascade of sand went over her and the Ranger who was inspecting her Gym badges. “Oops! Sorry!” she said sheepishly.

Jay tilted his head. “If you already have the Mauville Gym badge why come back this way?”

“And walk up hill to Lavaridge? No thanks! I’ll double back and check out the Verdanturf Contest coming up. Then I’ll get my third Gym badge there before trekking on to Rustboro for my fourth badge!”

Jay laughed. “Well your confident in yourself! I hope you do well!”

“Thanks old man!” said the girl as she took back her badge case. She eyed the berries he had and opened her mouth only for a gurgle to echo through the gorge. The girl blushed only to pause and look down when the gurgling continued.

“Oh! Nipper! Did you want some berries?”

The little trapinch nodded once, its eyes never leaving the tray of berries.

The girl chewed her lip. “Shoot, I don’t have much money on me…” Before Jay could suggest using her trainer card for a credit payment she reached into her bag. Jay saw a few rocks with strange shapes imprinted on them that took him a moment to realise were fossils before the girl pulled out a pink jewel the width of his thumb. It sparkled in the light and Jay gasped.

“How many berries will this give me?” she asked.

Jay gestured at all of his stock and the girl happily released all of her team. “ Lizzie, Hime, Stomper, Trumpet, and Tropo! Meal time!” she said releasing her team to reveal a Nidoqueen, Ninetales, Golem, Phanphy, and a Tropius on top of her Trapinch.

Jay whistled in admiration. “You have a good team assembled here young miss! What is your name so I know who to look out for at the conference this year.”

“Celia! From Pewter City!” she said with a pleased grin as her pokemon devoured his entire day’s stock. By the time they were done Jay had learned the girl had spent the last three weeks combing the desert for fossils, successfully it seemed, but she’d also been looking for something more. When he tried to warn her off looking for the Mirage tower she got a stubborn glint in her eyes that made him sigh.

She at least had taken all the precautions she could and had handled the Hoenn desert at its worst. Coming back in a few months time shouldn’t be a problem for her.

When she was done he rubbed his chin at his empty stall and the jewel he now possessed. It would make a wonderful thirty-year anniversary gift… well, a make up gift at least.

The Ranger looked at him enviously. “Gonna pack up for the day?”

Jay chuckled, pocketing his jewel and flipping a sign to simply say his stall was closed. Then he sat back in his chair and lifted his book. “Nope!” he said, reaching out and patting his Torkoal.

It was, after all, never about making money that brought him out here.

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A.N. Special thanks goes to my patreons for their support!

Special thanks goes to Raikor, Ab9999 and Elnoorz for betaing and editing this chapter.