8 Chapter 8: The First Battle

After discussing all the plans, Gray headed to the office of the caretaker and part-time mistress of this orphanage. She was the very person who handed out the drugs for sale. Gray had to take her place so that all the proceeds would belong to him. No gang can exist without money. For now, he couldn't provide all the gang members with Pokémon, so they would continue to sell drugs. Without premeditation, he opened the door. The woman turned angrily on him and began to speak loudly

"Who gave you permission to come in here without asking? Get out of here quickly" said the caretaker aggressively. Gray decided that the conversation would go in a calmer manner if she was tied up, so he released Weedle from the Pokéball and ordered him to use a String Shot. It all happened in a matter of seconds, so she didn't even have time to realize what had just happened when she found herself tied up on the ground. She looked at Gray perplexed and with fear in her eyes. Standing next to him was a long yellow pokémon she recognized as Weedle.

"Gray, where did you get the pokémon from? Let's talk calmly. It's not like I've done anything wrong for you. This orphanage was created to help poor children like you, so that they can at least feel warm and cared for somewhere. You've been here almost since you were born and you should know what it means. Untie me and we'll talk it over." - The nurturer began to speak in a soft, gentle voice. There was fear and a hint of envy in her gaze. Everyone in the slums wanted their own pokémon. 

"Yes, Ms. Grace, I know the purpose of this orphanage very well. Still, there are few people in the slums who can supply as many drugs as you do. Many gangs buy from you, so the orphanage must have accumulated a lot of money over time, Am I wrong?" - you ask with a smile and step close to the bound caretaker. You see her face twist as she realizes why you came here. Talking about money goes a long way for a reason. Even if that gang managed to steal 62,000 Pokédollars from that gang, how much would it be here, the main place to sell drugs.

"You want the money? Fine, I'll give it to you. Untie me and you can have it. After that, you can leave the orphanage. With this kind of money, you'll be able to afford to live comfortably in the middle neighborhood of Viridian City. And put away your pokémon, the way it looks scares me." - She said. Gray looked at Weedle. What was it about him that could scare her? It's just an ordinary weak pokémon. It's not like Tyranitar or Hydreigon, known for their fiery and angry personalities. Grace Gray didn't like Grace Gray's suggestion.

"Hee hee, Ms. Grace, you don't seem to realize the situation you're in.". Gray picked up his knife and made a faint cut on the woman's arm. She hissed in pain. 

"You are not in command now, I am in command now. This is not a request, but an order to show me where the money lies in this orphanage. If you don't do it now, you may as well take your life. Believe me, within a few days, the children in the orphanage will be able to find the place. By the way, I'm their permanent leader now. So you'd better not resist and make them hurt you." - Gray spoke long and calmly as he left new cuts on her body. Mistress twitched and screamed in pain, but that didn't stop Gray. When Gray's knife came dangerously close to her eye, she gave up and said:

"Okay! I agree! Put the knife away... I'll show you where the money is kept" she replied. You cut the web and freed her. She posed no threat as Weedle watched her movements closely and was ready to fire a Poison sting at her at any second. He didn't care why Gray was doing it. He was his parent, which meant Weedle didn't have an ounce of doubt in his actions. The trust of some pokémon was very easy to earn, especially if you found it in the form of an egg.

Ms. Grace led Gray to the basement. They went down dark flights of stairs. The place smelled damp and musty. Up ahead you could see a massive iron door. Only the landlady had the key to this door. She nervously took them in her hands and with shaking hands managed to open the door with not the first attempt. Behind it you found a small room, here stood a closet and a desk filled with a variety of paper, notes and other things. This was where Miss Grace counted her profits and added them up. This is also where all the drugs were stored before they were put into the hands of the residents of this orphanage for sale. In the closet, you'll notice stacked bills. At first estimate, there were about 350,000 Pokédollars in there. That would be enough for you to initially equip your gang. Gray had yet to choose a name (Vote for the choices offered:

1 - Requiem 

2 - Night Parade ( My favorite, thanks for the suggestion judgmental_duck )

3 - Nemesis

4 - Phantom

5 - My choice (Write comment)

Gray looked at Ms. Grace contentedly. His innocent smile made her body go cold for some reason. She noticed him closing the door.

"Gray, what are you doing? We had an agreement." - She asked, pressing her back against the closet. Gray smiled. At that moment she thought his eye was burning red and she could have sworn she saw some dark particles emanating from his body.

"Ms. Grace, you've lived so long and you still don't know that any contract can be broken? We didn't even sign any contract with you. Did you really think I would let you go? I've already gotten everything I need. There's enough left for several months. Then my captains will be strong enough to take on bigger cases. Weedle, tie her up. I want to do an experiment." At Gray's command, Weedle tied her up again. This time he also gagged her so he wouldn't hear her cursing, pleading for mercy, and the sort of things people say on the verge of death. He walked right up to her and tried to use his ghostly energy. She obeyed him unquestioningly. Gray placed his hand on her body and released the energy. The woman's body began to fade rapidly. Her skin began to sag and her hair began to sit up. From a rather large middle-aged woman, she began to look like a frail old woman in a matter of minutes. While this was happening, Miss Grace was in terrible pain. It felt like several liters of ice water had been poured inside her. The cold was so scalding that she felt like she was burning from the inside out. The ghostly energy was sucking up her life force and turning her into herself. When all that was left of her was a desiccated corpse Gray removed his hand. He felt the amount of energy increase slightly. The woman's body alone wasn't enough to notice any significant changes. Gray thought there must be other things he could do with the ghostly power, but so far he couldn't figure out how to do it. For now, he could just let it out of his body. In his head, Gray made a note that he would catch a primal-type pokémon in the future to learn how to manipulate the power from them. Still, they should know perfectly well how to do it. Gray took the key from the dead body.

The next day came.

As promised to his captains, Gray went with them into the forest. William never took a step away from Gray. He tried to be as polite to him as possible because he didn't want to lose his place as captain. Kazumo, on the other hand, was keeping an eye on the forest. They met a couple pokémon along the way, but the leader said that their potential was too bad to be their pokémon. They listened to Gray carefully and heeded his advice.

"Who wants which pokémon? There are Spirou, Pidgey, Caterpie, Weedle, Ekans, Oddish, Bellsprout. there are also Nidorans, but they are protected by their families so they can't be caught. Take your pick. I'll catch him for you," Gray said loudly. They began to think about their choices. The first to speak was Kazumo.

"Leader Gray, my preference would be Pidgey." - He said. Gray only nodded his head. Overall not a bad pokémon for a newbie like Kazumo. While William was still thinking,they went to look for a suitable Pidgey.

"The two of them have enough yellow potential. If they find a green one, it's their luck. I won't be looking for one on purpose," Gray thought as he scanned the pidgies that came his way. William also reported that he would prefer Ekans as his pokémon.

*****

Pokémon: Pidgey

Type: Normal/Flying

Level 5

Character: Bashful

Potential: Light Orange

Characteristics:

Health - 17/17

Attack: E+

Defense: E-

Special Attack: F

Special Defense: E-

Speed: D-

Skill: Keen Eye

Movements: Tackle (Level. 2), Sand Attack (Level. 1).

*****

Pokémon: Pidgey

Type: Normal/Flying

Level 7

Character: Bashful

Potential: Light Yellow

Characteristics:

Health - 23/23

Attack: D+

Defense: E+

Special Attack: - F

Special Defense: D-

Speed: C

Ability: Big Pecks (Hidden Ability)

Movements: Tackle (Level 3), Sand Attack (Level 2), Faint Attack (Egg Movement) (Level 1).

*****

"Looks like we found the right pokémon. Kazumo, this pidgey will be yours." said Gray, releasing Weedle. He wasn't confused by the difference in level. Weedle's potential was much greater, and the transformation his body had gone through made him strong enough. If he couldn't handle this bird, it would only show his uselessness.

"Ready for our first battle?" - Coach Weedle asked. The man shook his head affirmatively. Gray ordered him to slacken his speed by using String Shot. Pidgey dodged it, but some of the webbing hit his wings. Pidgey quickly flew at Weedle,

"Use Poison sting," said Gray. The poison shot hit Pidgey's body and he clamored. His body turned purple in color, which means he was poisoned. Pidgey's movement was stopped. Without giving him time to stop, Poison sting was used again. The projectile accurately hit Pidgey, causing the latter to lose consciousness.

"WEEDLE!" - shouted the pokémon victoriously. Gray walked over and hugged him. 

"You did good, Weedle," said the trainer. He threw the pokéball at the lying Pidgey and gave it to Kazumo. The man's hands were shaking and his eyes were red as he held the pokéball. Weedle crawled over and pulled Gray by his pants. With his head he pointed in a direction, hinting to Gray that that's where he should go. He ordered the captains to stay here, while he himself headed to where the pokémon had pointed earlier. After a small amount of time, you came to a small clearing. In the middle was a tree with Metapods hanging from it. You noticed Butterfree and Ekans fighting under the tree. Weedle looked with unconcealed greed at the fruit hanging from the tree.

"Bug fruit," Gray realized. A natural treasure that grows once a year. When consumed, bug pokémon gain a large amount of energy that can even increase a pokémon's potential.It was now clear why Weedle was pulling you here. Most likely Ekans wanted to eat the Metapods, but Butterfree guarding them wouldn't allow it. Now was the perfect chance for Gray to steal the fruit for his pokémon. He decided to scan Ekans.

*****

Pokémon: Ekans

Type: Poison

Level 8

Character: Lonely

Potential: Green

Characteristics:

Health - 16/26

Attack: C+

Defense: - D

Special Attack: D+

Special Defense: C-

Speed: C

Ability: Indimate

Movements: Wrap ( Level 4 ), Poison sting ( Level 3 ) Poison Fang ( Egg Movement ) ( Level 2 ), Scary Face ( Egg Movement ) ( Level 2 )

*****

"While they are busy fighting, you can stealthily sneak up and take the fruit..... Weedle will be able to pick off the fruit with String Shot. Then we'll quickly sneak out of the area. If I can do that, I'll catch this Ekans. He won't last long against Butterfree," Gray was thinking about what to do next