4 Chapter 4: Kill it
"Alright, now let's complete your side of the agreement." Leon let go of Teddiursa's hand and turned to the still sitting Gabe who seemed to be devoid of all color.
"You wanted to know why I have such a 'murderous aura'? Well that's because I've murdered someone before." Leon grinned mischievously at his contradictory remark, prompting Teddiursa to cover his face in a futile attempt to stifle the laughter bubbling up inside him.
The sight of Gabe's terrified expression only served to further amuse Teddiursa, causing his amusement to grow exponentially.
"Wha-"
"Of course, it was self defense after a pervert tried to take advantage of me." Leon immediately lied to ease Gabr's worries since he didn't want to deal with the constant weariness and or fear.
Leon's white lie seemed to work as once Gabe heard this explanation, a sympathetic look eclipsing expression completely overwhelming the clearly distraught look from two seconds ago.
"Listen, what I mean is once you kill something with your own hands you'll see what I mean." Leon tried to dumb the process down a bit so that Gabe could understand.
"I don't want to kill a human though." Gabe gazed down at the ground in shame but Leon only shook his head.
"It can be a pokemon."
"But I have-"
"No you haven't, having your pokemon kill for you doesn't count." Leon pointed to the two next to him, causing Gabe's gaze to shift towards Flaffy and Magneton.
"Having indirect blood on your hands doesn't compare to actually having blood on your hands." Leon spoke with a solemn tone, revealing a truth he had long grappled with: while he had orchestrated numerous hits in his past life, the sensation of personally ending someone's life surpassed any previous experience.
Despite presenting his explanation with apparent reason and logical coherence, Leon harbored doubts about its effectiveness, merely stringing together words that sounded convincing.
Having spent 36 years immersed in the underworld, Leon had witnessed and committed his fair share of atrocities.
Yet, he recognized the stark contrast between himself and Gabe, understanding that qualities like demeanor and intuition only sharpened with years of bloody experience, shaping the person he had become.
Reflecting on his own evolution, Leon acknowledged a sense of rustiness that had settled in during the final eight years of his previous life, consumed primarily by the administrative demands of his burgeoning empire.
While his focus had shifted away from hands-on violence towards managing his empire's affairs, Leon knew that his skill hadn't vanished entirely.
"That seems a little aggressive Leon, I can't do that-"
"Well then I guess you wasted your time." Leon had little interest in convincing Gabe any further, having already fulfilled his end of the deal.
What Gabe chose to do with the information was his own concern, as Leon had made it clear that he would only disclose how he obtained it, not linger until Gabe grasped its full significance.
"You see what I had to deal with this whole time." Leon nudged Teddiursa who patted him on the back to show his condolences.
"Alright Teddiursa, let's go back to blackthorn city." Leon motioned his head to Teddiusa who shrugged and started walking next to him.
"Flaaffy!" Flaaffy, unhappy and unwilling, immediately jumped in front of the both of them.
Flaffy attempted to communicate that Gabe required a bit more time, but Teddiursa rejected her interference, swatting her hand away when she attempted to touch his new trainer.
"Flaaffy, I upheld the end of the deal with your pathetic trainer so move." Leon frowned, deciding to let out his true thoughts now.
"Flaff-"
"Teddiursa." Teddiursa ice cold words hit Flaffy's ears making her instantaneously become on guard resulting in Teddiusa gripping his fist.
"Leon." Gabe weakly voiced out as Leon ignored him and showed a satisfied expression towards Teddiusa's reaction.
"I understand I'm lacking-"
"Correction, Gabe, you're not lacking but severely lacking." Leon clicked his tongue before turning around with a disappointed look.
"You're in a pokemon academy, right?" Leon gestured to which he nodded.
Leon lacked a comprehensive understanding of what a Pokémon academy entailed, but he grasped its fundamental purpose: to equip trainers with the skills needed to navigate the harsh realities of the world they were destined to enter.
"Don't they teach fighting courses in that academy?"
"Well yes-"
"Then do you fight with your barefist?"
"Well no, I have twin daggers-"
"Why are they not at your side?"
"Because only when you go deep into the forest is where you find the dangerous pokemon-"
"Gabe, this is what I mean." Instead of Leon, Teddiursa was the one to sigh as he shook his head knowing exactly where his new trainer was about to go with his point.
"In the wild, you should have no idea what is going to happen at any time, meaning you should always be on guard. What if a pokemon suddenly charged past your pokemon and tried to attack you, how would you defend yourself? Say you actually have your daggers, what would happen if you were knocked unconscious? Have you told your pokemon a backup plan in case you're unable to give orders?" Leon gave example after example to the crumbling Gabe who only looked towards the ground.
"Listen, I'm no expert or anything but I atleast know in the wild anything can happen, and you should always be prepared no matter what." Leon walked over to Gabes bag and started ruffling through it.
"And it's a little unnerving that you don't know this either." Leon honestly frowned since he didn't understand what kind of academy would produce such underwhelming trainers like Gabe.
"What are you doing Leon?" Gabe, already under Leon's heel emotionally, reached out but his hand was only swatted by Leon's.
*Smack*
"I've decided to give you more advice but this time I'm taking my payment in advance." Leon pulled out two of his sheathed daggers and threw one to him.
"I'm taking this." Leon's tone showed no room for debate and instead of fighting, Gabe sighed in defeat after the realization of being bullied by a twelve year old.
"Listen, here's what you're going to do, get one of your pokemon to grab a rattata and then strangle it to death." Leon explained whilst unsheathing the dagger to examine it as Gabe showed a shock look.
"But why get the dagger?" Gabe, confused at why Leon threw his dagger at him, only flinched upon facing Leon's ugly expression.
"F*ck Gabe, put it on your waist in case the plan f*cking backfires!" Leon's patience had worn thin as dental floss, shouting at this mentally challenged trainer, who appeared incapable of discerning any situation placed before him.
"Teddiursa." Teddiursa patted Flaaffy's shoulder showing its condolences as she brushed him aside before making her way back to Gabe.
"Flaaffy can you fetch-"
"Magneton." Magneton came out of the nearby bush while throwing an injured rattata to Gabes feet.
"Rattata." Rattata weakly squealed a sentence of mercy as it reached out a paw towards Gabe in a defenseless manner, knowing that its life would only be preserved by this trainer sparing it.
"Kill it Gabe." Leon appeared at his side, deciding to push him into killing this Rattata.
Gabe trembled with fear at the mere thought of harming the defenseless Pokémon, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
Unable to bear witness to this cowardly exchange, Teddiursa rolled his eyes and flopped down onto the ground, opting for a quick nap, resigned to the fact that he might be here for a while.
Taking a cue from Teddiursa, Leon also settled down beside him, mirroring his expression of boredom as they observed Gabe's internal struggle.
Truthfully, Leon would have left earlier, but Flaffy had stopped him, reminding him of the potential trouble he might encounter if he, a ten-year-old orphan, attempted to return through the city gates unaccompanied and alone.
'What a p*ssy.' Leon lamented to himself while yawning.
Gabe, on the other hand, had finally mustered up the courage to walk closer to the barely motionless rattata.
Thinking it would be spared it relaxed its tense body before immediately widening its eyes at Gabe's finger suddenly interlocking around its neck.
Tears dripped onto his violently shaking hands as the continuous scratching and squealing of the Rattata only worsened Gabe's inner guilt.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry- '' Like a broken record, Gabe continued to voice out his sorrows while Leon's eyes started to slowly drip lower in sleepiness.
*Sniff*
*Hic*
His crying only worsened once the Rattata lay motionless, the life had completely exited its eyes under the grip of Gabe who had finally crumbled under the guilt.
"Flaaffy." Flaaffy comforted Gabe who started hugging the dead Rattata in a way to coup with his very first kill.
"Teddiursa." Teddiursa couldn't suppress the scoff that escaped his mouth at the sight of the pathetic display.
It seemed ludicrous to him that this weak human would cry like a baby Pokémon over something that occurred daily in the forest.
"FLAAFFY!" Flaaffy yelled towards Teddiursa while telling him her trainer was having a moment.
Teddiursa clicked his tongue in irritation, glancing to the side, only to find his trainer paying no attention to the unfolding situation.
Instead, Leon was engrossed in inspecting the knife he had confiscated from the weak human known as Gabe.
"Teddiursa." Teddiursa nudged Leon's side, prompting him to look up.
Upon seeing Gabe's pathetic appearance, Leon's expression mirrored Teddiursa's earlier one almost exactly, before he too rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Oh my god, stop crying like a little b*tch and let's go." Leon ordered the still crying Gabe with a bored tone.
Leon didn't bother waiting for a response. He stood up and began brushing off his ragged clothes.
Meanwhile, Teddiursa pumped his fist in excitement, eager to leave this pathetic interaction behind them.
*Sniff*
"Al-"
*Sniff*
"Alright." Gabe wiped his eyes in confirmation to Leon's orders though the tears still never ceased even with his actions..
"What is the academy teaching these days to churn out wusses like him?" Leon, who had a completely different memory of what academies should be, showed a weird expression while not even hiding his internal thoughts resulting in a glare from Flaaffy.
"Teddi." Teddiursa followed up Leon with a sneer proning Flaaffy to finally lose her temper and lunged at them.
"Teddiursa, confront her head on." Leon quickly spoke out as Teddiursa smiled fiercely.
Upon hearing the command, Teddiursa's sharp teeth were fully exposed as his fist became engulfed in a thick red flame.
Meanwhile, Flaffy's tail swiftly solidified into a metallic substance mid-air, rotating her body to gather momentum before unleashing her tail with an even greater force.
The momentum of both attacks remained relentless even as they clashed, resulting in a sudden collision of energies.
Two opposing forces unleashed for a battle of strength, their differential energies melting into the conflict until a sudden standstill ensued.
*BOOM*
In the blink of an eye, the aftermath of the collision occurred as neither attack could fully overpower the other, causing both energies to rebound onto their wielders, creating a slight shockwave.
Overwhelmed by the force of the confrontation, both Pokémon were forced back, leaving two pairs of seams on the ground beneath them where they had stood their ground.
After a moment, they managed to halt their backward momentum, coming to a stop with Teddiursa slightly behind Flaffy in a mirrored stance.
"FLAFFY!" Flaffy, seeing her attack didn't result in any serious damage, decided to move to her next attack.
Until Gabe, who had finally regained himself, looked at the situation unfolding with an unbearable sadness.
"Stop Flaaffy." Gabe's scratchy voice sounded from the side causing her to immediately disperse the electricity building up around her cotton fluffs.
"Leon, I'm sorry for my pokemons actions." Gabe apologized as his body bent down to show his utmost sincerity leaving Flaaffy to grit her teeth.
As her emotions settled, Flaffy realized she had become too caught up in the moment, mirroring her trainer's actions.
Without a word, Leon turned his attention to Teddiursa, who was adeptly concealing his pain.
However, upon closer inspection, Leon noticed a slight twitch in Teddiursa's right paw, which he was attempting to hide behind his back to mask his weakness. Despite this, Leon gently patted Teddiursa's head, acknowledging his efforts.
"Just heal Teddiursa, whether he took damage or not doesn't matter since sincerity will make us square." Leon didn't want to hurt Teddiursa's pride since he could plainly see how much he tried to hide the pain he felt from the exchange.
Gabe smiled faintly, unaware of the underlying implications of Leon's words, and took them at face value.
He then approached the small bear and knelt down to tend to its injury. However, Teddiursa motioned for him to stop while holding his arm in protest.
"However, I think you should compensate Teddiursa since unlike me, he hasn't forgiven you." Leon shamelessly gestured, causing Teddiursa to smile mischievously while side-eyeing Flaaffy.
"Teddi~" Teddirusa decided to give Flaaffy a show before he started whimpering a little bit.
Teddiursa ensured to exaggerate his injury as much as possible, going as far as to hide his eyes, which might have given him away.
His unharmed paw positioned itself in front of both eyes, perfectly concealing them.
Gabe and Flaffy exchanged a deadpan gaze, their eyes then turning to Leon, who simply shrugged in response to their piercing stares.
Meanwhile, Teddiursa delved deeper into his role, maintaining the facade of injury while falling to his knees in agony.
On the side, Magneton remained unfazed, calmly gazing at a Butterfree flapping in the sky above.
"One oran berry." Gabe plainly spoke, reaching into his back and grabbing a foreign device neither of them had ever seen before.
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa suddenly fainted at this lowball number as Leon immediately caught him while faking an anxious tone.
"It seems like he passed out due to mental trauma and fatigue! I think three oran berries will help him overcome this turbulent experience!" Leon showed distress while Teddiursa laying in his arms kept wriggling around showing a distraught and pained expression.
*Sigh*
Gabe decided to just give in since his pokemon caused this in the first place as suddenly three oran berries appeared in his hand.
"What is that-"
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa interrupted Leon's question before greedily jumping out of Leon's embrace and rushed over to Gabe, three oran berries were immediately swiped from his hands as their new owner held them within his embrace.
Teddiursa, taking a bite from the ripe oran berry, enjoyed the show of the fuming Flaffy who remained obedient by Gabe's side while she watched this brat consume her lunch.
"Gabe, what's that and how did you make those berries appear?" Leon came to Gabe's side while inspecting this device like a caveman discovering fire for the first time.
"This? It's the newest PokeGear! The V8!" Gabe, who was still a little down, suddenly changed his demeanor when talking about his PokeGear.
"I won this baby in a contest and it has a pokedex, scanning function, storage function, and web access all in one!" Gabe boosted about his precious baby while stroking it gently, very gently.
"Can I check Teddiursa status?" Leon asked without asking.
"Sure." Gabe nodded, handing him the tablet.
"How do I work it?" Leon tilted his head and Gabe pressed the scanning function.
[Scanning 3%]
A light suddenly shrouded over Teddirusa who was munching on the oran berries while not forgetting to brag to Flaffy.
[15%]
[69%]
[100%]
[Status
Pokemon: Teddiursa
Gender: Male
Level: 15~19 (To get an exact talley upgrade to the premium version)
Abilities: Pickup, Quickfeet
Talent: Upgrade to a premium version or visit your local alliance pokestop to scan
Innate Ability: Upgrade to premium for this function
Weight: 21.9 Lbs
Height: 2'3
Innate moves: Upgrade to premium for this function
Moves: Cross Chop, Bulk Up, Bite, Close Combat, Fury Swipes, Payback, Slash, Play Rough, Fire punch, Baby doll eyes, Lick, Sweet scent, Tackle, Facade.]
"F*ck the association." Leon immediately muttered to himself seeing the words 'Upgrade for this function.
'At least human greed is the same.' Leon's face scrunched tightly since at least one thing didn't change in this seemingly foreign world, greed.
"Wow, your Teddiursa is strong." Gabe showed a surprised look before immediately looking at Teddiursa who shrugged like it was nothing, stuffing the last of the berries into his mouth.
"How do I learn more about these moves?" Leon, who didn't know any of these moves except tackles, tilted his head in confusion.
Leon honestly knew he would have to do more research on all things pokemon, but the main subject was on being what they called a trainer.
Personally, Leon had no interest in becoming a trainer or joining the association since all he wanted to do was make money.
However, he still felt a sense of responsibility towards Teddiursa as they would be partners from now on, and Leon never turned his back on one of his own.
"Those fighting type moves are either his innate moves meaning his parents must have heavily focused on fighting type moves resulting in them passing it down to him or their eggs moves, either way it's very rare. Same with Play Rough since Teddiusa doesn't learn that until level 30." Gabe calmy spoke his thoughts out loud as it flew over Leon's head since he didn't understand what he meant.
"I mean like the description of what they do?" Leon seeing that his words were misterupted made Gabe quickly understand.
"Just click on whatever move or ability you want to know." Gabe instructed while clicking on a random move.
[Bulk Up: Bulk Up raises the user's Attack and Defense by one stage each. Stats can be raised to a maximum of +6 stages each.]
"Ohhhhhhhhh." Leon exclaimed, he felt like an old man having to be taught how to work an electronic device for the first time.
Leon diligently went over all of Teddiursa's moves and abilities, carefully making mental notes of each one.
Unaware of Gabe's attitude, he quietly studied the information, recognizing the importance of understanding all of his Pokémon's moves and abilities.
Gabe, understanding the significance of this process, refrained from interrupting, allowing Leon to focus entirely on the task at hand.
15 minutes later
"Do you have another one of these or-"
"No." Gabe snatched the device from Leon's hands who showed a disgruntled expression.
"Whatever, let's go." Leon begrudgingly acknowledged that the device was likely expensive, making it challenging to obtain.
He also understood that he couldn't forcefully take it away from Gabe, especially considering Teddiursa's current level of development.
Gabe trailed behind Leon as they exited the forest, his gaze fixed on the ground. His Pokémon attempted to offer him comfort as they walked.
"Teddiursa, I'm going to return you until we get into the city." Leon pulled out Teddiursa's pokeball but he didn't really care.
Returning him back to his pokeball they easily passed through the borders as Leon's worries seemed all for naught.
"Before I forget, make sure you register your signature on Teddiursa to prevent theft." Gabe reached inside his coat before pulling out a knife.
"Uh Gabe, why would a signature require a knife?" Leon took a step back instinctively as Gabe looked at the knife then back at Leon.
"No, it's a DNA signature that requires a drop of blood." Gabe quickly dissuaded himself as being a murderer as Leon held out his own hand since he had already taken his dagger.
"Where do I do it?" Leon poked his thumb without much concern, looking back at Gabe who pointed to the button.
*Tink*
The second Leon's blood dripped onto the pokeball, the button absorbed the droplet as Leon raised an eyebrow.
"Does that mean that I'm the only one that can call out Teddiursa?" Leon asked, looking up as Gabe shook his head.
"That feature is only on ultra balls, this protection only stops other trainers from entering stolen pokemon as their own in tournaments." Gabe promptly explained as Leon let out a deepening frown.
"So it's useless, got it." Leon turned back, walking through the armed border to hte city as Gabe quickly followed.
"Well Gabe, good luck with your life." Leon promptly said after they distanced themselves from border security.
Not waiting for a response, Leon lightly waved goodbye to Gabe before deciding to make his way to a cheap hotel that he spotted earlier.
"Wa-Wait!" Gabe tried to grab Leon though the latter pivoted to the side before twisting his body to collide his foot with Gabes shin.
"Ow! ow ow ow!" Gabe instantly grabbed his shin after Leon's heel connected.
"Gabe. I think our interactions have run their course so let's part ways here." Leon showed an unfriendly smile yet Gabe didn't give up.
"But I still want to learn more." Gabe, who had listened to this small child give him advice that had changed his outlook, wanted to know more.
"Maybe another time when you have more cash on you but until then, politely, f*ck off." Leon swatted Gabe's hand away right as he tried to grab onto him.
"Wait, I have more-.............where did all my pokedollars go?" Gabe heard Leon's words and made his way towards his pockets.
Becoming confused at the result of thin air, he started rummaging through his backpack yet all his cash had seemingly disappeared.
"Leon, I can get more money-Leon?" Gabe who turned his head back to where Leon should be instead was met with only air.
Leon, who had ducked into a nearby alleyway, gazed behind him before smiling while taking out a wad of pokedollars.
"1, 5, 7, 11, 16000 pokedollars, thank you for your generous donation Gabe." Leon smiled at the money he earned from instructing Gabe and once he finished counting, Leon pulled out a pokeball before calling out Teddiursa.
"Let's find somewhere to stay the night before we join a gang." Leon patted Teddiursa's head yet instead of a nod, he received a weird look.
"Oh don't give me that look, it's only temporary until I figure out how the underworld works here but once I do, I'll do a hostile takeover." Leon calmly spoke, organizing the money into a neat wad of cash as Teddiursa let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey kid, whatcha got there?" Suddenly a man called out from the side as he caught sight of a random scrawny kid carrying some cash on him.
"My money-"
"No kid, you mean my money." He interrupted Leon as a pokeball was suddenly pulled from his pocket.
"Teddiursa, act scared and run behind me but use this time to use that bulk up as much as possible." Leon whispered, turning his head to the side, acting like he was trying to hide his fake scared expression while ordering Teddiursa who was intently gazing at him.
Then suddenly his face turned into a worried one as he followed Leon's orders and scrambled behind him.
The man smiled in delight after seeing the little kid and his pokemons reactions thinking this would be the easiest cash he ever made.
"I see you also have a pokemon there? Why don't you hand him over to his true owner." The man enlarged his pokeball as he finally revealed himself from the shadows of the alleyway.
The man had a skinny frame though it was perfectly covered by a leather jacket that had a spider like pokemon plastered all over it which only served to intrigue Leon.
'What pokemon is that?' Leon wondered since he had never seen that particular pokemon plastered in any of his memoires.
'It looks like a bug, is it a-'
"Let me show you a real pokemon." The man arrogantly interrupted Leon's train of thought while winding up his arm.
"Ledian!" The man shouted after releasing the pokeball into the air.
A flash of light occurred in the surroundings as a Ledian formed, boosting an arrogant stature matching its trainer.
"Now unless you don't want to get hurt-"
"Fire punch." Leon initially speculated that the approaching figure might be something menacing like an Arbok or a Weezing, akin to the villains from the cartoons his niece watched.
However, his disappointment was immeasurable when he realized it was just a regular Ledian and from its memory it was supposedly weak.
Teddiursa rushed out from behind Leon, immediately answering his trainers after using Bulk up three times.
In contrast to before, Teddiursa's muscles appeared slightly enlarged, with the primary trait of the move manifesting in the pronounced definition of his muscles, every trace of which was now clearly visible.
A ferocious smile spread across Teddiursa's face as he launched himself forward, his right fist suddenly engulfed in a bright red flame.
"Ledian Mach Punch!" The man, who was a little taken aback, urgently tried to get Ledian to counter after seeing the situation slowly pry itself out of his grasp.
A bright energy condensed on Ledian's fist as it attempted to counter Teddiursa's oncoming punch.
However, instead of colliding head-on, Teddiursa planted his right foot on the ground, using it as a pivot point to weave his body to the side and then with precision, he unleashed his punch onto Ledian's unprotected body.
'That was a good weave.' Leon mused from the side since even though Teddiursa stance was very sloppy, the potential still showed itself and Leon who knew a thing or two about boxing didn't miss it.
"Ledi!" Ledian screeched out in pain while gritting its teeth as a coping mechanism from the constantly exuding pain.
Trying to create space, Leidan desperately flapped its wings though Teddiusa never stopped the pursuit of his punch while instead driving it even further into Ledian's being.
"LEDIAN!" Ledian pain filled cry morphed into an ear deafening scream as the flaming punch forcefully lodged itself into Ledian's body.
The pain didn't originate from the physical impact of the punch, but rather from the energy itself as the fire energy coursed through Ledian's whole being. Externally, it appeared as if Ledian's skin was only slightly charred.
However, internally, the fire energy emitted from the fire punch greedily burned any remnants of bug energy that dared to come near it, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
"LEDIA D-DODGE! NO WAIT ANOTHER MACH PUNCH-NO DODGE! WAIT-" The man kept changing his mind from the side since this whole outcome sent him for a loop.
Not once did it ever cross his mind that the situation would twist like this and once it did, the man's overbearing confidence collapsed along with his reasoning.
"Teddiursa bite Ledia's neck." Leon's next command stunned the man speechless though before he could voice out any protest, the words seemed to become stuck in his throat upon seeing Teddiursa teeth suddenly lit up in dark energy.
*CRUNCH*
*SPALT*
Teddiursa crushed Ledian's thin neck without a second thought as its bones instantly collapsed under the brutal force of Teddiursa's jaw.
The blood didn't spill into Teddiursa mouth but instead spurted outwards onto ground while painting the alleyway in a thick green color.
The once confident and lively Ledian was no more, its essence extinguished as only a lifeless husk remained, dangling from Teddiursa's jaw.
"LEDIAN!" The man screamed in horror upon seeing his partner fall into death clutches.
Teddiursa, disgusted with the taste finally gracing his tongue, immediately opened his bloody mouth resulting in the limp Ledian falling lifelessly to the ground.
Not understanding the position he now put himself, he disregarded everything and ran to take Ledian's corpse into his arms.
"Ledian? LEDIAN WAKE!" The man threw away his pride and sobbed as his hand shook violently while caressing Ledians dead face.
"LEDI-"
*TWACK*
Leon didn't spare a moment to watch the man grieve. Instead, he forcefully shoved a medium-sized rock into the man's jaw.
The opposing momentum of the rock caused his skin to ripple upon contact, and the rough exterior of the rock continued to sink into his seamlessly soft embrace.
It wasn't until his head could no longer withstand the resonating force of the impact that his body finally hit the ground.
*THUD*
Though even when hitting the ground loudly, he still managed to safely shield the dead Ledian gracefully laying in his arms.
The man's brain stirred upon settling into the ground while his vision became dizzy before he eventually made out Leon and Teddiursa figures though they were still blurry.
"Hey, I didn't hit you that hard, did I?" Leon repeatedly tapped the dazed guy's cheek with the intention to jar him out of his confused stupor.
"Ted teddiursa." Teddiursa grunted after finally getting that awful taste of Ledian blood from his mouth while slightly complaining to Leon at why he had to bite the gross bug pokemons neck.
"Getting rid of the Ledian like that would save us so much more time for the integration so stop whining about the taste." Leon's words only seem to worsen Teddiursa's attitude as his expression only became ugly after both his eyebrows tightly scrunched.
"Teddi." Teddiusa promptly pointed out after seeing the man barely holding onto his consciousness.
"What did you want me to do? Wait for him to stop mourning? I got questions to ask, my time is money." Leon complained seemingly knowing what Teddiursa was saying.
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa complained once more, pointing at the rock in Leon's hands knowing that almost knocking him unconscious would make this process last longer which contrayed his previous statement.
"WELL MY LITTLE BONEY ASS FISTS WOULDN'T HAVE MADE HIM SURRENDER NOW WOULD IT!" Leon yelled back as Teddiursa grit his teeth while grabbing the man's hair.
"TEDDI TED URSA TEDDIURSA!" Teddiursa yelled, showing Leon the man's clear dazed and confused state.
"Tsk." Leon clicked his tongue not refuting that he might have gone too far in his attempts to quickly subdue the man and seeing this prime opportunity Leon decided to rummage through the man's pockets to pass the time.
"Two empty pokeballs, a stick of gum, 15,000 pokedollars, and a phone. Wait, is this a phone?" Leon, who had never seen a phone from this world, gazed at it.
'Poketch V1? Ohhhhhhhhh, this is like the outdated version of Gabe's pokegear.' Leon read the back only to squint in his eyes further at the even smaller text.
'Manufactured in Sinnoh, huh? Like the other regions?' Leon scratched his head though since he didn't have much knowledge of this region, he disregarded the lingering train of thought before curiously opening the blue flip phone.
[18:45, Tuesday]
[Settings]
[Contacts]
[Map] Locked please buy expansion card
[Radio] Locked please buy expansion card
"What did I expect?" Leon scoffed, not at seeing the downgraded functions but after seeing almost all functions locked by a paywall.
"Ted?" Teddiursa curiously tugged at Leon's pant leg, Leon understood the gesture and squatted down so he could see.
"See this?"
"Ursa."
"This is the so-called 'human greed'." Leon instructed as Teddiursa vigorously nodded his head in awe.
*Beep*
[Contacts:]
Boss
Mom
Tim
Travis
Daniel
Side hoe
Tyrone
Shelly
Leon scrolled through the contact but quickly got bored and immediately headed to the settings while planning to reset the phone.
[Are you sure you want to reset this pokegear? All data will be lost?]
[Yes/No]
'Yes.'
[Reset starting 2%]
"Y-you." The man finally regained his senses and hissed out with one hand urgently grabbing his continuously spinning head while the other gently warped around the formerly alive Ledian.
"Finally." Leon sprung to his feet upon hearing the man coherently speak, he didn't care much for the pokegear now and handed it to Teddiursa.
Teddiursa became immediately fascinated by this piece of black technology as he had only known the blackthorn forest his whole life and never experienced human creations.
Holding this flip phone as if it was a delicate priceless treasure, he constantly changed its angle to inspect every inch of it as his eyes scanned every end and ridge located on it.
"You're in a gang right?" Leon smiled innocently while pointing to his leather jacket that was beginning to become soaked in Ledian's green blood.
"Yesh and yoursh meshing wish the Aridios gang." His words slurred out as the left part of his jaw was swollen to the extreme causing pronunciations to come out skewed.
"And yosh-....yosh killish my Ledian!" The man screamed painfully, his eyes became teary at the realization hitting him once more though instead of looking towards the culprit instead he whole encompassed his vision with Ledian.
"Do you not understand the position you're in right now?" Leon tilted his head in confusion, the man only glared at him until Leon suddenly held up the rock still lying between his fingers signaling he would bring it down at any moment.
"Wai-"
"Here's what's going to happen if you keep running that mouth of yours." Leon pointed at the rock and thinking it was an attack the man cowarded a bit.
"I'm going to turn your currently intact head into alleyway mush where it will lay for an extended period of time before Rattata eats your remaining scraps of brain matter. Then and only then will the police find you, though your funeral will have to be a closed casket since no one wants to mourn a half eaten body." Leon's explanation only made the man shiver after envisioning the results of Leon's words.
The man remained silent, but words were unnecessary. The mere gesture of him bowing his head was enough for Leon to understand that the only response the man would offer, aside from fear, was complete obedience.
"That's better." Leon smiled while patting the man's cheek again as the latter tried to inch away.
"Alright kid let's start." Leon flashed a toothy smile, pulling over a nearby crate to sit on.
Despite the distressed man's slurred words, Leon managed to glean a general description of the underworld in the area.
In Blackthorn City, two notable gangs reigned supreme: the Ariados gang and the Noctowl gang.
Each gang was led by a leader who owned a signature Pokémon, serving as the emblem of the clan.
However, the true power in Blackthorn City lay with a single family known as the Blackthorn clan.
Their influence was so vast that the city itself was named after them, and they had governed Blackthorn City for centuries.
The Blackthorn clan also oversaw one of the most formidable gyms in Johto, specializing in Dragon-type Pokémon.
What set them apart was their mastery of dragon energy, one of the strongest and rarest forms of energy manipulation.
Despite their overwhelming power, the Blackthorns chose to keep the gangs in check rather than eradicate them entirely, a strategy that Leon anticipated.
In his view, crime was inevitable, and it made sense for the Blackthorns to control the size of the gangs, ensuring they never grew too powerful.
The primary location for these gangs was the slums, a fact that once again didn't surprise Leon.
Low-income areas often bred delinquents and criminals since desperate and down on their luck people usually have no choice but to succumb to the underworld, even if it is at its lowest regions.
Each gang typically controlled an equal amount of territory in the slums, although the balance of power shifted periodically. Currently, the Noctowl gang holds slightly more territory than the Ariados gang.
However, to Leon's surprise, he discovered that the Ariados gang prided itself on quality rather than quantity.
They preferred to have fewer members, but each member was in turn more powerful and skilled as the Noctowl gang tended to lean towards mass recruitment.
This revelation piqued Leon's interest, particularly because the concept of quality appealed to him more than quantity.
He had no desire to compete with individuals he deemed beneath him, especially if they were simply plucked on the streets.
Gangs and organizations that operated as such rarely gave any leeway to incoming recruits, often requiring years of dedication to even solidify one's position within the organization as a grunt.
Therefore, the Ariados gang intrigued him, as their focus on quality aligned with his own values.
"Alright the Ariados gang it is." Leon nodded to himself while rubbing his chin, coming to the conclusion that joining the Ariados gang would be more beneficial, concluding it would afford him with a better opportunity to learn the ropes and understand the ecosystem of this underworld.
"Teddiursa don't lick it!" Leon slightly turned his head to the side, though once his eyes saw Teddiusa slobber about to touch his new phone, he quickly reprimanded him.
Teddiursa huffed though complied as Leon snatched the pokegear from his hands, the man on the side seeing this calm exchange thought he was in the clear resulting in a sigh of relief.
"Teddiursa?" Teddiusa raised an eyebrow and Leon nodded his head though his eyes were lasered on the pokegear.
"Yeah and make sure to grind him into a mush." Leon added another condition but still didn't look up from the phone while fiddling with it to put in the correct date and time.
"Wait you shaid I would be sparshed." The man urgently reprimanded Leon, he didn't stand still either and slowly backed away though Leon only smirked.
"No, I said I wouldn't pound you into mush, I never said my partner here wouldn't." Leon side eyed the pale faced man though before he could stand up Teddiursa unleashed a cross chop on the man's right leg.
*Crack*
"AHHHHH! HELP! SHOMEONE SHELP SH-"
*Crack*
Teddiursa wasted no time and swiftly snapped the man's legs, rendering any attempt at escape futile.
The man screamed in agony but forced his eyes open when he sensed a shadow looming over him. Blinking his eyelids open, all he saw was Teddiursa smirking down at him, a paw slowly extending towards him.
"NOOOOOOOO-"
"CRACK*
! The man's head contorted in a way that defied normal human anatomy, his eyes rolling back until only the white remained.
With no regard for the deceased, Teddiursa's fist condensed with immense fighting energy before he swung it down with all his force.
Despite the blood splattering on his face, he maintained a bored expression, showing no excitement at the prospect of killing a weaker being.
As scarlet red slowly showered Teddiursa, he remained indifferent to his work, leaving the once intact man reduced to alleyway mush, just as Leon had requested.
"Done?" Leon asked, closing the pokegear and stuffing it into his pocket.
"Teddi." Teddiursa nodded in reassurance, his fur now completely covered in blood making Leon sigh.
"We should've asked him if there was a bathhouse around here." Leon frowned though gestured for Teddiursa to follow him.
"Teddirurs-" Teddiursa not understand where Leon was going asked only for his sentence to be halted.
"Here we go!" Leon exclaimed after seeing a nearby faucet.
"Alright Teddiursa, come here and I'll help wash the blood off of you." Leon gestured to him while loosening the nozzle to let the water flow out.
*Sigh*
"Teddiursa."
5 minutes later…
Teddiursa's previously fluffy fur now clung to his body, completely drenched and highlighting his muscular stature.
Despite living on his own, Teddiursa had developed a decent build and showed no signs of malnutrition, unlike his trainer.
"Wait Teddiursa don't-"
But it was too late; Teddiursa vigorously shook left and right, the water absorbed by his clumped fur strands forcefully expelled outward, leaving Leon caught in the crossfire.
"Great." Leon, who now had his rags wet, sighed as Teddiursa smirked.
"Teddiursa, I'm going to call you back until we're in a room." Leon said as Teddiursa nodded.
Returning Teddiursa to his pokeball Leon started walking to the cheap motel he originally saw, it was almost dawn so traffic in the city still constituted a decent amount of pedestrians.
Eventually, he made his way to the motel and upon walking in, the clerk who would usually put on a presentation smile immediately frowned after seeing Leon's outfit.
"We charge 4,500 a night and I'll need it upfront-" The clerk halfheartedly gave out the standard price thinking a poor orphan like him couldn't even afford an hour.
*BAM*
Leon slammed that exact amount on the counter clearly a little displeased at this customer service.
"Do you treat all your customers like this?" Leon didn't hide his displeased expression, a little annoyed at being treated like a scumbag without even being given the chance to prove himself as one first.
"Only the poor ones." The clerk scoffed, taking the money and handing him a key.
"What should I put the name under." The clerk asked and Leon swiped the key off the counter.
"Leon." Leon turned his back to the clerk.
"Here's your tip." Leon held up a middle finger while walking to the elevator.
The clerk's eyebrow twitched though didn't delve further into it since it was their attitude that caused this after effect.
Leon, who made his way to the room, frowned seeing it was placed right next to the elevator while adding that clerk to his list before using the key to enter the room.
Leon released Teddiursa who immediately curiously gaze around the hotel room as Leon made his way into the bathroom.
Minutes passed by and Teddiursa's ears twitched at the distinct sounds of running water before eventually Leon came out with a towel wrapped around his lower waist.
"Teddiursa." Teddiursa suspicion was confirmed as he gave Leon a deadpan look while pointing at him then at his fur.
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot we could've just rinsed you off in the hotel." Leon chuckled, noticing all he had to do was return Teddiursa then let him shower here.
"If it really bothers you that much then take a shower here, and experience the wonders of hot water." Leon gestured to the bathroom after seeing Teddiursa deadpan expression.
Teddiursa huffed, clearly intending to wash himself off as his fur smelled weird after showering in that alleyway water.
Walking past Leon, he closed the door behind him. As Leon scratched his wet hair, he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.
"TEDDIURSA!" Teddiursa suddenly screamed in anguish.
Leon immediately turned his body and rushed into the bathroom only to find Teddiursa grabbing his hand while blowing on it as steaming hot bath water ran out of the faucet.
*Sigh*
Then Leon proceeded to explain how a shower worked until Teddiursa was lying comfortably in a bubble bath since in the end, showers ended up being too confusing for him as well as out of his reach.
"Teddiursa~" Teddiursa let out in delight as he slid further into the hot water as Leon chuckled.
He had returned to watch him after he clothed himself and the prime reason for this was to make sure Teddiursa didn't try to eat the soap.
"Really, what did I say earlier?" Leon snatched the bottle of soap from Teddiursa's hands as he tried to eat it.
"Teddi." Teddiursa, clearly dissatisfied at having the delicious smelling liquid snatched from him, pouted by putting half of his face into the water leaving Leon to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah I know it smells good but that doesn't mean it tastes good." Leon instructed, yet Teddiursa was still a little skeptical since how could something with such an aroma taste bad.
"Fine here." Leon didn't really care anymore and decided to teach him a lesson.
Excited, Tedidusa watched Leon put a small drop of the soap on his finger while gesturing to Teddiursa to taste it.
Teddirusa unabashedly licked his finger and once he took his tongue back into his mouth, Teddiursa face immediately contorted.
"Delicious right?" Leon smiled at the sight of Tedidusa continuously pursing his lips.
"Teddiursa no!" Leon quickly stopped Teddiursa who tried to drink his own bath water.
"TEDDI!" Teddiursa scraped his tongue in urgency while conveying the agony from the chemicals spreading across his taste buds.
"Didn't I tell you it wouldn't taste good!"
"TEDDIURSA!"
"NO WAIT, DRINK OUT OF THE SINK! THE SINK!"
"URSA!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
10 minutes later
A deep silence permuted as trainer and pokemon sat on separate beds while gazing up at the ceiling in a deadpan stare.
"Teddiursa."
"It's fine."
"Ursa."
"Yep, it'll stay between us."
"Teddi."
"Yep, soap doesn't taste good."
*Sigh*
Both of them sighed before immediately chuckling away all the discomfort felt in the past twelve minutes. Teddiursa, not letting his curiosity wane, started walking all over the neatly made bed.
"That's a bed." Teddiursa's ears twitched, he vigorously nodded his head before making his way to a soft fluffy thing.
"That's a pillow." Leon instructed and once he did Teddiursa started snuggling into it.
Leon couldn't help the smile threatening to form on his face while watching Teddiusra roll all over the bed with the pillow between his grasp.
"Do you like the pillow?" Leon chuckled seeing Teddiursa now bury and rub his face into the pillow.
"Teddi~" Teddiursa signed in relief since he had never felt something so soft in his whole life.
"Well I'm going to get some sleep, have fun with the pillow." Leon waved before turning his back to Teddiursa who continued to snuggle up against the pillow.
Soon both of them drifted off into a deep sleep, uncaring of the problems constantly transpiring in the world as well as the problems their actions directly caused.
In a abandoned warehouse
"Boss, Chester's body was found dead." A thug reported to a man calmly raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't we just give him a pokemon after he won the bronze bracket?" The boss turned his head to the grunt in confusion only to receive a hesitant nod.
"If he died so quickly then he wouldn't even be valuable as a pawn. Fill his position as soon as possible." The boss waved his hands with clear disgust while petting his Ariados to his side.
"Yes boss."
"And due to various pests, I've decided to open up the diamond bracket." His boss's next words shocked him before he immediately regained himself.
"Of course boss."
