After the situation died down, the police arrived at the scene to arrest as many Rocket Grunts as they could. Red, Kaori, Silph and the now acquainted Fer gave their testimonies about what had happened.
Sabrina managed to defeat a whooping 200 grunts but Proton escaped with all his and Ariana's Pokémon. This was due to Proton having an emergency exit Abra, something that caught Kaori's attention since having a quick TP is indeed quite useful.
Now, Red, Fer and Kaori were being thanked by Silph.
"I cannot thank you enough, young men." Silph.
"No, we didn't stopped Team Rocket from stealing your Master Ball." Red.
"Don't worry, a single prototype isn't enough to make me worry. That poké ball is the fruit of countless researchers working on it since my grandfather's era, and only I posses the knowledge to recreate it so, do not worry about them reverse engineering it." Silph.
"Sill…" Red gripped his fist.
"Red, Giovanni is leagues beyond our control." Kaori.
"I just don't get it, it's almost as if everyone knew he's the boss but do nothing to stop him." Red.
Silph sighed.
"Unfortunately, it's not that simple." Silph.
"What do you mean?" Red.
"Giovanni holds great political power in Kanto, his illegal activities as leader of Team Rocket can be denied since not everyone has confirmed him being in the area." Silph.
"But he was right here!" Red.
"You see my secretary right there? Talking with Officer Jenny." Silph.
Red looked at her and looked back at Silph.
"She looks ok to me." Red.
"Would you believe me if I tell you that in less than 24 hours, she will take back everything she's confessing about Giovanni?" Silph.
Red widened his eyes and Kaori narrowed his.
"Why?!" Red.
"Bribes." Silph.
He sighed as he looked at his demolished building.
"I get it, no wonder it's so hard to catch him." Fer.
"What do you mean?" Red.
"Under the state laws of the Kanto region, accusations against Gym Leaders require immutable proof for their trial. In the case of testimonies, these must be kept free of irregularities from beginning to end before, after and during investigations and trials." Fer.
"Given that Giovanni can 'convince' others into altering their testimonies it affects the overall verdict, resulting in a null trial and they can come out practically unscathed." Kaori.
"Why?! He's obviously a bad person, why help him at all?!" Red.
"Hard to say, greed, fear, anything could be a reason to not go against Giovanni. Even if everyone knows, he's being protected by the laws of Kanto." Kaori.
"Why not change the laws?" Red.
"It cannot be done. Decades ago, a war was waged for the supremacy here in Kanto. The war claimed the lives of various Pokémon and humans in large quantities. In the end, a group of individuals gathered together to fight in the war, and they won." Silph.
"The result of that war was the creation of a new Kanto Region. A region united with Pokémon and humans to live for harmony." Kaori.
He had already read all of this in Prof Oak's notes.
"Right, to bring a new and glorious dawn, they implemented Iron Rules that can never be broken or you'll be punished through the judiciary system. These rules would never be altered, changed or overlooked in any form or way." Silph.
"Long story short: As long as Giovanni can find a loophole in the Kantonian law enforcing system, he can remain untouched by the law?" Fer.
"That is correct, it's a shame but there's nothing we can do about it." Silph.
"But…!" Red.
"Red, think this through." Kaori.
Red looks at him.
"If people begin to change rules at their will just for their interest, it doesn't matter that we use them for our grater good. Others could and will use it for greedy reasons and could even affect the lives of the commonfolk." Kaori.
"What about a video? Would that be enough?" Red.
"It would certainly be but…" Silph.
He took out his Pokégear and showed a recording of the security cameras. The video and audio were corrupted and everything sounded bizarre and muffled.
"It's been theorized that Giovanni carries around a device that jams the recording tools at all times. This way, it's impossible to prove that it's him." Silph.
Red was vivid. He was reaching a point of wanting to scream and vent his frustrations somewhere.
"Well, I better cooperate with the investigation and see what I can salvage. I'll send your rewards to your personal league accounts." Silph.
(A/N: The Trainer ID also counts as a savings account; it's regulated by the league of the region where the transaction was made.)
"I say I don't need it." Red.
"And I said that I will reward you anyway. Keep on the good work, youngsters." Silph.
Then there were three, a manga protagonist, a transmigrator and a game developer's character.
"Well, I guess they're pretty much done with this place. I'll head to the Pokémon Center to have some rest." Kaori.
Red immediately grabbed his arm and looked at him.
"How can you be fine with this? We should go after Giovanni!" Red.
Kaori just looked at him and placed his hands in his pockets.
"And how exactly do you expect us to do that? Because, I don't think you've forgotten how easily that Beedrill almost kills us." Kaori.
"That was just a surprise attack, next time will be different!" Red.
Kaori sighed.
"Red, you're a very righteous person but there are some things that guts and bravery alone won't overcome. You're lacking experience, strength and a bit of everything overall." Kaori.
Red felt slapped by that statement and was losing his cool.
"Just like me." Kaori.
Red's anger stopped as he got a clear look at Kaori's expression and saw how frustrated he is.
"I'm still too weak as well, that's why we got to train so that we can help as many people as we want. You get it?" Kaori.
Red let go of his arm and Kaori left before Red could answer.
"I feel like a fool." Red.
"It was an anger attack, quite normal for people your age." Fer.
"It's no excuse. I know Kaori and right now… he must be infuriated." Red.
Back with Kaori he stopped by an alley near the Pokémon Center and punched a wall. His palm was covered in self-inflicted bruises from clenching his fists too hard.
It was quite common for him to ignore the problems in the games because that's what they were, games. But now, things were a reality, on his way to Sabrina he saw various humans and Pokémon suffering from the attack.
Kaori wasn't a hero by no means, in fact, his knowledge of right and wrong is very shortsighted due to his introverted lifestyle. But seeing the pain, suffering and loss of these mere "NPC's" made his stomach turn in.
A couple more punches and Kaori managed to calm himself down.
"Phew… time to rest." Kaori.
He left and went to the Pokémon Center to heal his team; they weren't particularly injured but they were tired.
{Timeskip}
Kaori was bandaging his hands while his Pokémon were being treated. He then sat on one of the comfy seats the center had to offer. After a while, Red and Fer entered the center and walked towards Kaori, now followed by Rosama who was on another facility.
"Hey." Red.
"Hey." Kaori.
"Thanks for calming me down." Red.
"It was that or let you walk into the tiger's den with just a toothpick." Kaori.
"Sorry." Red.
"Don't be, stop acting all mopey, you're not like that." Kaori.
"Yeah, I know. Still, I wanted to thank you and give you this." Red.
He took out a cyan Pokégear and Vs. Seeker and gave it to Kaori.
"You didn't have to give me one, use the money to buy food." Kaori.
"No, no, no, Mr. Silph gave it to us as well. He said it was a bonus reward. I wanted to reject it at first but having an easy way to communicate someone almost anywhere can be useful, especially with Team Rocket on the lookout." Red.
"You know, if either Blue or Gary were here, they would say something along the lines of you using your brain for the first time." Kaori teased.
Before Red could say anything…
*COUGH* *COUGH*
Fer, totally not on purpose, coughed and got both Kaori and Red's attention.
"I'm sorry but I think presentations are due." Fer.
"I'm Fer, and she's my sister Rosama. We're currently travelers from the Star Region." Fer.
Kaori's poker face didn't reveal it but he was freaking out like crazy.'
'Fer?! As in THE Fer!? Ex-Champion of the Star Region and future Psychic-Type Gym Leader of Antares City?! The one who catched Mewthree to steal him from Giovanni!? And on top of that, his sister, the future Grass-Type Gym Leader is here as well!! System, I demand an explanation!!! Sorry for being rude.'
[Answer: The temporal anomalies generated from the time travelers, alongside you wish to create a mashup of this world created unforeseen factors. Fer being here is one of those factors.]
'So, what now? What if he doesn't become a Gym Leader?' Kaori.
[Do not worry, Fer's dream IS to be a Gym Leader, he just won the league because he wanted and for now, he's just traveling to enjoy his journey. Destiny cannot be changed that easily.]
Kaori sighed with relief and focused on Fer.
"…and that's the reason as to how I managed to arrive." Fer.
"So cool! I want to go there, ah! but they don't allow outsiders!" Red.
"You should probably, definitely keep that a secret. I mean, I don't have a problem with it but some shady people might take a hold of any of you to try and enter. Specially when one of you can barely defend herself." Kaori warned.
"I know, I'm only telling you this because I feel that I can trust you, don't make me regret it." Fer's last sentence had a bit of hostility to it.
"Well, what are you aiming to do here in Kanto?" Kaori.
"Just doing some traveling, catching some Psychic types." Fer.
"Ahem!" Rosama holds Bulbasaur's poké ball.
"And a Bulbasaur. Nothing much in general. I was gonna ask Sabrina about her psychic powers but she's extremely busy at the moment due to what has happened." Fer.
"Oh, yeah. You have psychic powers." Red.
"He does?" Kaori feigns ignorance.
"It's nothing to brag about but yeah, have them for as long as I remember." Fer.
The quartet remained talking about their plans for some plans until Kaori received a notification from the System.
[Ding! Check your status panel as soon as possible.]
'A notification? I wonder what it'll be.' Kaori.
"Guys, I'll be back." Kaori.
"Where are you going?" Red.
"W.C. I forgot I had to go there." Kaori.
"Ah." Red/Fer/Rosama.
Kaori made his way to the bathroom and hid in one of the toilet cabins to check his status.
'Ok, status check.' Kaori.
[Name: Kaori.]
[Age: 14.]
[Profession: Pokémon Trainer, Chef, Pokémon Groomer, Pokémon Researcher, Craftsman, Pokémon Breeder.]
[Status: Kinda Tired.]
[Strength: 20]
[Defense: 22]
[Speed: 22]
[Leadership: 40]
[Luck: 10]
[Mind: 25]
[Skills: Unite Move (Locked), Sync Move (Locked), Mega Evolution (Locked), Z-Move (Locked), Dynamax (Locked), Terastallize (Locked). Combined Moves (NEW), Roar of Spirit (NEW).]
[Passive Skills: Cooking (Intermediate), Memory (Mastered), Keen Senses (Beginner), Poke Language (Locked: Requires ???), Extremely Healthy Body (Mastered), Status Check (Beginner).]
[Achievements: The One who loves Pokémons, The Ultimate Champion (Locked), Limit Breaker (Locked), Wikidex, Battle Maniac, Hardcore Nuzlocker.]
'Wow, new stuff. System, what's the ranking in my skills?' Kaori.
[Answer: The rankings are divided in: Mediocre, Basic, Average, Intermediate, Advanced, Mastered and Unmatched.]
'Is unmatched the top-top, there's no super-secret level?' Kaori.
[Affirmative, unmatched refers to your skills surpassing anyone and everyone.]
'And I suppose there's no way to enhance the active skills to reach that level?' Kaori.
[Negatory, as per your request, you desired the enjoy the world of Pokémon at your hearts' content. If you become invincible…]
'There's no fun in that.' Kaori finished the sentence.
He then checked a skill that wasn't there before and pressed its summary.
[Extremely Healthy Body (Fixed Rank: Master): Sickness is part of any living being's life, but not yours.
Your body is immune to all diseases, illness and most toxic substances, don't try to push the limit though. Also, you will feel tired like any normal human being and age according to the years, it'll just show less obvious.]
'Ok, what's with this "Extremely Healthy Body" Skill? Why didn't it show the first time? And what's the fixed rank?' Kaori.
[Answer: For the skill to make your body as healthy as possible you had to first expose yourself to said dangers. Every time you played with a wild Pokémon, or went over the house of a sick person to help them, aided you in gathering the necessary information for the skill to be formed.]
'Huh, I didn't wish for that.' Kaori.
[Indeed, this is just Lord Wexof's generosity for your well behavior.]
'Thank you, Lord Wexof!' Kaori had tears in his eyes.
'Now, about the sixed rank.' Kaori.
[The fixed rank means that your stat will not improve further, this is due to the unmatched rank of the healthy skill would mean nigh immortality and that cannot be allowed by the rules of this world for a human.]
'Makes sense, I wasn't planning to live forever though, at best 80.' Kaori.
'What did Leadership do again?' Kaori.
[Leadership: Your mind is sharper during combats and you Pokémon can follow your orders more swiftly despite the circumstances.]
'I see. What about the combined moves and roar of spirit?' Kaori.
[Combined Moves: You can order your Pokémon to use two attacks simultaneously. NOTE: If said attacks are incompatible then the combination shall fail, if the move hasn't been properly trained the move shall fail, combining moves don't erase preexisting moves, combined moves cannot affect the Z-Moves. Chance of Succeeding: Depends on the move to use, Cooldown: 4 Days.]
[Roar of Spirit: A skill that allows you to connect your passion for battles with your Pokémon. Usage: When a Pokémon looks that's about to faint, the skill will allow it to survive the last attack. Chance of succeeding: 30%, Cooldown: 3 Minutes.]
'Cool! The combine moves are something that only Red did a few times in the Manga. I'm so excited since I've had the combinations apart in a doc sheet.' Kaori.
After playing with some of the options in his status and checking it some more, Kaori finally went back with Red, Fer and Rosama.
"So, what now?" Red.
"What do you mean?" Kaori.
"What should we do now?" Red.
"We? Red, you shouldn't drag people along whatever you're thinking." Kaori.
"Actually, I asked to be included." Fer.
"Ok, why? It's not that I don't like the idea, I just thought you had your thing going on." Kaori.
"No, it's fine. It's just that both of you have caught my interest and since Sabrina isn't gonna be free for a couple of weeks, I thought why not hang out with you." Fer.
"And also, because big bro is scared of the dark and having more people around him eases his mind." Rosama.
"SHUT UP! Ignore her, her head's full of moss." Fer.
"No, it's not! It's filled with flowers and nice fragrances!" Rosama.
Red and Kaori snickered at the sibling interaction and then Red looks at Kaori.
"What about you?" Red.
"Alright… I'm game. But I warn you, I wake up early in the morning, don't know if I snore and do some loud training regime." Kaori,
"Cool, I'd like to join that." Red.
"Seems that we've taken a decision." Fer.
"YAY!" Rosama.
The four of them decided to take one last rest and went on the next morning to continue their travels together.
They were about to leave until Sabrina suddenly teleported near the side of the city.
"Sabrina? What's the matter?" Kaori.
"Nothing, I just wanted to thank all three of you for your help against Team Rocket." Sabrina.
"Aww, shucks! Don't worry about it." Red blushed due to the compliments.
"It's not like we defeated over a hundred of their grunts." Kaori.
"Still, I believe you deserve my regards. Speaking of which." Sabrina looks at Fer.
"I would've love to meet you under different circumstances. I hope we can exchange viewpoints on the psychic abilities another time." Sabrina.
"Likewise." Fer.
"Still, here's a token of my appreciation." Sabrina.
She handed both Fer and Red the Marsh Badge and gave Kaori a poké ball.
"Why did you give us the badge? Don't we have to battle you for it?" Red.
"Yes, unfortunately I'm afraid my time will be needed to help the reconstructions around the city. Besides, you're not necessarily needed to win a battle to earn it. As long as you prove your worth, that's enough." Sabrina.
"Though the method varies, which is why fighting and winning is the easiest way." Kaori.
"Indeed. In your case, I decided to gift you this Pokémon." Sabrina.
"Psychic-Type I assume." Kaori.
"Go on, meet him." Sabrina.
Kaori opened the poké ball and from there a foxlike yellow Pokémon appeared levitating, it is an Abra.
"This Abra is actually the son of my Alakazam." Sabrina.
"What?" Kaori.
"I didn't know about how Pokémon reproduced and due to a slipup from my part Alakazam, when he was a Kadabra, had an egg with another Psychic type." Sabrina.
"Are you sure it's Alakazam's?" Kaori.
"I am, Nurse Joy made the tests but tested negative with all the Pokémon from the gym." Sabrina.
"Wow, hey there, little fella." Kaori.
Abra simply floated towards Kaori's jacket and placed himself in one of the pockets.
"Seems that he likes you." Sabrina.
"I'll take care of him, Sabrina." Kaori.
"I know you will. May our paths meet again, young trainers." Sabrina.
She then disappeared and left.
'System, status on Abra.' Kaori.
[Abra]
[Level: 10]
[Potential: 20%]
[Trust: 10%]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Psychic]
[Nature: Adamant]
[Ability: Inner Focus]
[Status: Healthy]
[HP: 28]
[Attack: 13]
[Defense: 11]
[Sp. Atk: 26]
[Sp. Def: 19]
[Speed: 26]
[Moves: Teleport, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Light Screen, Reflect, Barrier, Encore, Knock Off, Power Trick, Guard Split, Guard Swap, Psycho Shift, Psychic Terrain, Hidden Power]
'Jesus Christ! I got the lottery in the egg-move department… but lost on the Nature department. System, can I change the natures like in the games?' Kaori.
[Affirmative, though the changes in the nature will only be statistical, their true personalities and traits will not be erased and or altered.]
'Where can I buy them?' Kaori.
[Celadon and Saffron's malls are good options.]
Kaori looked at the destroyed buildings and sighed.
'Celadon will be.' Kaori.
Just as he paid attention to his companions again, they began to walk towards their next destination, Lavander Town.