Chapter no.25 Austin's Precautions

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Pushing the cart through the PokéMart, Austin felt a weight settle over him, each item he placed inside a reminder of the dangers waiting outside these safe, commercial walls. His fingers lingered over the rock-climbing gear; the texture of the rope was gritty, real. Every carabiner clinked like a warning bell. As he tucked the harness and helmet into the cart, he couldn't help but feel like he was preparing for a battle he barely understood, let alone felt prepared to confront.

Pikachu and Vee watched him.

They didn't understand the complexities of human conflicts or the depths of human cruelty, but they sensed the shift in his mood. He tried to mask his anxiety with a smile, but it was hard. The air in the PokéMart felt thicker, charged with his racing thoughts about Team Rocket's unknown capabilities.

The memory of Sird's attack haunted him; it replayed in his mind like a bad movie, each detail sharpened by fear. The brutality of it was jarring, reshaping his understanding of the risks involved in this journey.

He wondered if he was being paranoid, if his fears were overblown. Am I the only one who sees the danger? he thought, his hand automatically reaching down to Vee, who pressed against his leg reassuringly.

As Pikachu sparked lightly, trying to catch his attention and lighten the mood, he forced a laugh, grateful for the distraction. Their attempts to cheer him up were both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. Here were these innocent creatures, drawn into human conflicts, yet still so full of love and trust. It reinforced his resolve, but also his fears. What if I can't protect them? This question loomed large, adding a somber note to each step he took through the store.

When the cashier eyed the taser gun, a flush of embarrassment heated his cheeks. Here he was, a kid, buying things that most adults would hesitate to handle.

"For my safety, I'm going to go through the uncharted areas of Mt. Moon," he explained awkwardly, feeling the need to justify his purchases.

The man's casual nod did little to assuage his doubts. As he asked about rock climbing lessons, the raised eyebrow felt like an indictment of his ill-prepared plan. He chuckled, more out of nervousness than amusement. "Well, as they say, 'Fortune favors the bold.'"

The words felt hollow, bravado masking deep-seated insecurity.

Austin pushed open the door to the Pewter City Indoor Climbing Center, immediately struck by the sight of expansive climbing walls that stretched high into the cavernous space. The walls were adorned with colorful holds and routes, ranging from beginner-friendly to expert levels. Natural light spilled in from skylights above, casting a warm glow on climbers who scaled the artificial cliffs.

Approaching the front desk, he was greeted by a clerk who appeared young and enthusiastic, her short-cropped hair and friendly smile adding to the welcoming atmosphere of the center.

"Hi! How can I help you today?"

He returned her smile. "I'd like to register for climbing classes. I heard there's a weekly fee?"

"That's right! It's 1000 Pokédollars per week," she confirmed, her fingers dancing over the keyboard. "And you'll need a Flying-type Pokémon for safety reasons."

"Why a Flying-type?"

She pointed towards a rock wall where an older man, probably the coach, was making his way up with a harness. Attached to the harness was a majestic Pidgeot, carefully monitoring every move the climber made. "The Flying-type Pokémon can assist in case of falls or if climbers find themselves in a difficult spot."

"Okay, yeah, that makes sense. I have a Spearow," Austin replied, relieved that his Pokémon could play a part in this.

"Great, then we're happy to have you here," the clerk responded warmly, completing his registration. "Classes start in about an hour, so you can come in and check out the facilities. You can even meet the coach."

"I can?"

"I don't see any issues with it, plus it'd be good for you to meet the coach."

He nodded appreciatively and turned to signal Pikachu and Vee. But, as usual, his two Pokémon were several steps ahead of him, already darting inside with enthusiasm that was hard to contain.

"Sorry about that."

"No, go have fun!" she encouraged with a laugh.

Equipped and ready, Austin gave a thumbs-up to Pikachu and Vee who watched from the sidelines. His first attempt at scaling the wall was more ambitious than wise—he lunged for a hold that was clearly out of reach, which resulted in a swift and somewhat dramatic tumble back to the mat. Spearow squawked indignantly as it fluttered to stabilize them both, only to get tangled in the safety rope.

Next, he tried a different approach, opting for a route that looked easier. However, just as he was gaining confidence, his foot slipped, causing him to swing wildly like a pendulum. This time, Spearow, trying to be helpful, swooped in to steady him but only managed to bump into him, sending them both into a spinning mess.

From the corner of his eye, Austin noticed Vee visibly worried, his posture tense as if ready to leap into action at any moment. Meanwhile, Pikachu and Rattata were outwardly calm, but Austin could sense their underlying terror. They were putting on a brave front just for him. Particularly Pikachu, who hadn't even taken a bite of his ketchup chips, his attention fixed unwaveringly on Austin's every move.

"Hey coach, can my Pokémon join?" Austin asked, his trio lighting up like fireworks while Spearow glared at him.

"Don't worry, you still only need to save my butt." The bird nodded.

"Sure," said the big man with a nod.

After several hours of rock climbing, Austin could barely drag himself to the bed, collapsing onto it with a deep, exhausted sigh. The mattress felt like a cloud welcoming him back to earth. His limbs ached pleasantly from the exertion, and he could barely muster the energy to move. Lying there, he half-joked to himself about marrying the bed for the sheer comfort it offered.

From the corner of his room, he could hear the playful interactions of his Pokémon. Pikachu and the others were poking at Spearow, who seemed just as tired from the day's activities. The bird's feathers were slightly ruffled, giving it a disheveled look, and its expression was wearied as it shot a pointed glance in his direction. It was as if Spearow was saying, See what your fun ideas get us into?

Austin chuckled. "Hey, I did say if you help, you can have this," he reminded the exhausted bird. He reached over to his nightstand, where he had earlier placed something special. With a little effort, he pulled out the Boulder Badge and placed it gently on the floor in front of Spearow.

The other Pokémon gathered around, their eyes wide as they shifted their gaze from the shiny badge to him, then back to the badge again.

"Come on, the grumpy bird earned it," Austin said with a grin, pushing himself up slightly on his elbows to get a better view of their reactions.

He felt certain it was the right choice.

The plan had always been to train Spearow into a formidable physical attacker, and the badge was perfect for boosting its capabilities. Watching Spearow approach the badge with a mix of caution and curiosity was rewarding; when it finally touched the badge with its beak, a soft, greyish aura emanated from it, wrapping around Spearow like a gentle mist. The transformation was subtle. Spearow's posture straightened, its feathers slicked back into a sleeker, more streamlined form, and its eyes sparkled with a vigor that wasn't there before.

The other Pokémon seemed a bit disappointed by not receiving the badge, but Austin quickly diverted their attention by pulling out Flint's TM. "Let's get some new moves," he announced, lifting their spirits. Austin recalled them into their Pokéballs to place each one in the TM cube.

The cube hummed to life, its soft glow filling the space around them. Austin had always been fascinated by how TMs work—their ability to store move memories in code, crafted by psychic types, and then transfer them directly into a Pokémon's mind, activating their vestigial organs to adapt and use the new move. It felt like witnessing a small miracle.

When the cube quieted down, signaling the completion of the transfer, Austin's curiosity got the better of him. He immediately consulted his Pokédex to see the results.

Rattata had Hidden Power: Dark, Pikachu received Hidden Power: Grass, and Vee got Hidden Power: Normal. That last one puzzled him—Hidden Power: Normal wasn't something you typically saw in the games.

Something was off.

Austin decided to evolve Vee into Flareon, prompting it to use Hidden Power. To his surprise, the move transformed from Hidden Power: Normal to Hidden Power: Fire. He repeated the experiment by evolving Vee into Vaporeon and then Jolteon, each time observing how Hidden Power shifted to match the elemental nature of each evolution.

Just as Austin began to formulate theories about 'The How'—the mechanics behind this anomaly—a more pressing need interrupted his train of thought. His stomach growled loudly.

"Let's eat fast so we can eat again!"

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Author's Note:

Here you go, guys. I finally answered why Austin didn't bother asking for Professor Oak's help. The number of comments I received about this was kind of ridiculous, but the clues were there, in my opinion. Let's also answer some questions some of you posted via reviews, replies, or comments.

Question: Why didn't Austin tell Professor Oak about Team Rocket?

Answer: First off, Austin would need to reveal a lot of details for it all to make sense. If he simply mentioned that Team Rocket might be after him, what could Oak really do with that information? Austin isn't sure, but he guesses that Oak would start asking a lot of questions:

How does Austin know that Team Rocket might be on Mount Moon?Why is Team Rocket after him?

There are many more questions, but it all boils down to the information Austin could give Oak. Let's say Austin tells Oak everything he knows. Naturally, Oak would want to see Vee and probably run some tests. Austin wants to avoid this because, unlike a typical protagonist who might lean on a wise scientist to solve issues, Austin already knows how to solve Vee's issues—by evolving Vee into an Espeon, which requires building a high friendship level between them. That's why he hasn't pushed Vee into battles or tough training.

You might wonder why Austin doesn't just lie and say consulting Oak is the way to help Vee. Well, it harms Austin. Even if Oak then presented evidence to the league to take Team Rocket more seriously, it could backfire. Giovanni, knowing about Oak's moves against Team Rocket, might target people connected to Oak, like Austin and Gary, considering the timeline and that a field trainer like Austin could have caught Vee.

If this sounds like Austin is overthinking, that's because he is. This is a sign of the protagonist's trauma and paranoia. Remember, Austin is mentally 15 and physically 10. People who go through tough experiences, especially as kids like Austin did when he witnessed a murder by Sird, often end up being super cautious, suspicious, and overthinking every situation as a way to protect themselves. This makes Austin's reactions more genuine in my opinion and a logical reason for him not being too trusting of others.

Revealed Fact: Heck, we just learned Blue Oak is the gosh darned champion.

Context: Yes, you as the audience did, but Austin as a character just dismissed it as a coincidence or a reference because he doesn't have any reason to believe that Blue Oak, Gary's counterpart in the manga and games, is Anime Gary's father. From a meta perspective, Austin thinks this world is the anime, but the realism are aspects that weren't touched upon by the anime. Blue being Gary's father doesn't make much sense timeline-wise because Blue and Red are game and anime counterparts of Gary and Ash. From a reader's perspective, this makes sense, Blue being Gary's father, because this is a fanfic.

Question: Like what is his gain in not setting up a sting operation? He even has the excuse of overhearing about the interdiction.

Answer: Because he can't set it up, an excuse for overhearing is still an excuse; the adults, especially the higher-ups of the league, aren't going to take Austin or Oak seriously without evidence. Vee might make the league take Team Rocket seriously, but sting operations aren't going to be done unless some evidence is provided, especially when Austin can't exactly provide much evidence for anything Team Rocket-related. Austin doesn't know where Team Rocket bases are. Austin doesn't know how many Team Rocket personnel there are or their level of weapons, i.e., helicopters, etc. Austin only knows that Giovanni is the leader alongside the identities of the Executives, the evil gym leaders, and anything that was shown in the anime, manga, or games, but if he wanted to convince the league, the Elite 4 or Blue, or even Professor Oak about Giovanni being the leader of Team Rocket, how would he go about doing that? Better yet, why would they even entertain this idea? Sting operations just don't happen because some 10-year-old says something, and Giovanni has enough reach in the league that he would immediately know about these sting operations if they hypothetically happened.

Question: I get normally in a kids' show adults are useless, and I guess the trope is to handle it yourself, but it feels jarring.

Insight: I think it's jarring because you don't exactly know the position of Giovanni, Team Rocket, etc., in the world yet, so if I want to make the adults useful they would feel like adults, i.e., if you want them to move, you have to give them a reason.

Hint: I'll give you a hint as to why no one is taking Team Rocket as seriously as they should except for Austin: Giovanni has made sure that Team Rocket stays as a problem for the Pokémon Rangers and police, not the Elite 4 or Champion.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement with my work. Have a blessed day, and I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments!