Underdog (Pokémon Fan Fiction)

Chapter Fifteen

            “Bye! Come back soon!” Bugsy was waving goodbye as Luna and I headed out of town, into Ilex Forest. Gigi was happily on my head again, and I bet you can guess what she was eating. It had been a week since we’d escaped the well, and between the police interviews and my own procrastination about leaving, we were just now heading for Goldenrod City. To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to it. For one, I heard that Whitney is the most annoying gym leader in Johto, and that her Miltank is straight from hell. Also, we had to go through IlexForest to get there, and I was just ecstatic at the thought of so many bugs and trees. And I have a horrible sense of direction too, so Luna would have to guide me.

            But I was also a bit sad to leave Azalea Town itself. Bugsy was a great friend, even if he could be an annoying pest at times. Plus, I wasn’t very keen to leave Slowpoke Well unguarded. I had no doubt that Team Rocket- who had destroyed any evidence of their existence in the Well- would move back in as soon as the media died down.

            As for Falkner, well, Lance successfully ‘saved’ him, without even turning over more than a few hundred dollars that he’d disguised as a much larger stack of bills. That news report had sent me and Luna into hysterics, especially since Falkner was now sulking in his gym as police officers guarded him around the clock. He would have to wait a while before he had a chance to sneak out to help Giovanni. As of right now, my life was going surprisingly well. I had a few chances to relax and train Gigi and Romeo; both of them were doing well, too. Now I could focus on my journey. But a shadow covered my happy exterior. What was I working towards, now that Falkner had basically told me that he had no interest in our fights? Surely I would never be good enough to become Champion.

            But Luna, Bugsy and I had pretty much silently agreed that I’d keep pretending to be ‘Jack’ in public. I’d managed to find the brown contacts in my pocket, but made the stupid mistake of putting them in without cleaning them. Let’s just say I’ll never do that again. Anyways, I think that Falkner was lying. He had given up on capturing me so easily; maybe it was so he could have the pleasure of crushing my dreams himself. After all, he had said that he would let me back into the family only if I beat him. But since he hadn’t revealed that I was still alive, that meant I no longer had a free pass to go back and be greeted with open arms. Falkner never admitted that he’d forced me to leave; therefore my parents wouldn’t feel any pity towards me. So I guess I’ll just have to train hard and go back to kick his snooty butt.

            A thought crossed my mind, and I paused at the entrance to IlexForest, before turning around. “Hey, Bugsy!” I called. Luna stared at me quizzically as the boy walked towards us.

            “What is it?” he asked hopefully. “Are you staying?”

            I shook my head. “No, but I was wondering if you’d like to come with us.”
            Bugsy frowned at me. “Jared, you know that leaders aren’t supposed to leave their gyms for extended periods of time unless it’s an emergency, right?”

            “Yeah…but I heard that there’s a bug catching contest coming up next week in Goldenrod, and that’s where we’re headed. I bet people would want to see the famous Bugsy there.”

            Bugsy stared blankly at me for a moment, and then smiled. “I see where this is going. Let me go get my bag.” He took off back towards the gym. I’d eventually gotten my own backpack back- for some reason, Team Rocket left my and Luna’s stuff in the well for the police to find. I guess they just didn’t have any use for it.

            “Wow, aren’t you the mastermind?” Luna joked. “Devious!”

            I smirked. “Whatever are you talking about, Luna? I’m simply mentioned that there’s an event coming up at our destination.”