A few months had passed since my first official battles. I wasn't the same kid nervously stepping onto the gym floor anymore. Sixty-five wins. Eleven losses. And a reputation that echoed beyond Viridian's walls. Some people still called me a prodigy.
Others whispered more carefully like they didn't want to offend someone tied to Giovanni's blood.
Beedrill had grown sharper, faster, more brutal. Rhyhorn… was still a work in progress. But even he had started listening to me more, headbutting less, and throwing fewer tantrums when things didn't go his way.
Today, the gym was quiet a little quiet being the morning. It would close later on though while my father attends a Gym Leaders' summit. I had been given the rare privilege of tagging along.
But before that, I had something to do.
I sat alone in the back room of the gym, flicking through the internal system on the computer. It logged every trainer's wins, losses, and their challenge tier. I wasn't the one who gave out badges. That was my father's job, as the official leader. But as the first-ever official gym trainer of Viridian, I was the gatekeeper.
Beat me? You earned the right to face the boss.
Lose? You'd go home knowing Giovanni's heir flattened you.
I clicked over to my own profile. Beside my win count was a blinking icon.
[Redeem TM Reward – 50 Wins Achieved]
"Finally," I muttered.
My choices were limited, but I'd planned this already. I'd already asked Giovanni a few weeks ago if I could learn Drill Run. Well if Beedrill could. It wasn't a move you could just slot from a TM. You needed a specialist as it was a tutor move.
"Give me the bug," he had said.
I remembered handing over Beedrill's Poké Ball like it was a test. He said it would only take a day, so hopefully he hires someone competent.
POV - Omniscient
The training hall beneath the Viridian Gym was dark, wide, and built to withstand destruction. The walls were reinforced steel, dulled with scratches and singes from countless battles past. The air buzzed faintly with the hum of fluorescent lights overhead, but otherwise, silence ruled.
A man completely silent entered.
His presence was heavy.
This wasn't some sort of killing intent but something different, something akin to nature.
Giovanni stood alone in the centre, dressed in his usual black. His suit jacket hung neatly on a nearby rack, replaced by a high-collared training coat. In one hand, he held a single Poké Ball which was Silver's Beedrill and for a moment, he simply stared at it.
No words.
No expression.
Just stillness.
Then, he summoned it.
With a sharp hiss of expanding light, Silver's Beedrill emerged mid-air, wings whirring, alert and proud. It glanced around, registering its surroundings, and then looked toward Giovanni.
There was no Clara. No Silver. Just the boss of Team Rocket and a battlefield.
Beedrill didn't lower its guard.
Giovanni reached for a Luxury Ball from his belt. The one with no label. No data in the Gym's registry.
He tossed it.
And from the light came a monster.
Another Beedrill, absolutely humongous at a colossal two and a half meters tall.
Its wings were jagged and thicker, buzzing with a metallic hum. Its twin lances gleamed like forged blades and were a dark grey, and its eyes were cold, focused, honed by decades of combat. Its exoskeleton had hardened into a deep, burnished black, speckled with silver scars. This was not a Beedrill raised on friendship and optimism.
This was a weapon.
Silver's Beedrill froze for just a heartbeat, instinct flaring, wings rising to full spread.
Giovanni didn't give an order and casually strode forward.
His aura caused the smaller Beedrill to bow down, unable to move. The man putting his hand on the Pokemon, suddenly had his hands glow as if energy was being transfered into the Pokemon.
"Protect my son, make sure to not disappoint me." He says with an expressionless face.
After letting go, the Pokemon now felt a new type of energy coursing through its veins. Not necessarily strength but a new type of vigour, it felt like it had infinite energy...
Growing constantly.
Soon after this was time to train.
The larger Beedrill moved without a sound. No screech, no fury, just a blur of motion as it slammed forward. Silver's Beedrill darted back, launching a Poison Jab out of reflex, but the attack was swatted aside with casual precision.
Another strike. The older Beedrill jabbed downward with a feint, then twisted mid-air, its stinger gouging the ground with a low-drilling spiral. It was a perfect Drill Run, executed with savage elegance.
Dust exploded across the floor.
Silver's Beedrill recovered fast, spiralling around to flank, trying to mimic the same motion. It started the rotation, but its trajectory was off, too high, too wide. The bigger Beedrill punished the error instantly clipping it with a backhanded strike that sent the smaller one spiraling across the floor.
It didn't cry out. It didn't falter long. Gritting through pain, it rose.
Giovanni watched silently from the edge of the room, arms crossed. His face didn't twitch. Not even when Silver's Beedrill tried again.
Again, the young Beedrill twisted its body into a spinning dive, trying to channel the momentum into a grounded, spiralling strike. It hit the dirt, flared out, and skidded.
Wrong angle.
Too shallow.
The larger Beedrill moved again—faster this time, striking not to injure, but to redirect. It didn't wound. It corrected. Every attack was a brutal nudge, punishing mistakes and forcing adjustment.
They clashed like that until dawn.
And at last at last. Silver's Beedrill dipped low, stinger aimed downward, wings pulsing for balance, and executed a clean, spiralling dive. Its lances glowed a deep brown.
It struck the ground with a thunderous crack.
A perfect Drill Run.
The larger Beedrill landed a few paces away, nodding ever so slightly before vanishing in a shimmer of red light. Its job was done.
Silver's Beedrill hovered in place, battered and bruised, but chest puffed with earned pride.
Giovanni walked forward, stopping just short of it. For a moment, he simply stood there, studying it.
Then he held up its Poké Ball, and with a flash of red, returned it without a word.
POV - Silver Sakaki
But the next evening, he returned it without a word. I knew what that meant.
Drill Run had been learned.
I smirked.
It was the perfect countermeasure to Poison, Rock, Fire, Electric and Steel. Which had some crucial types that Beedrill hated. Now I could hit most of them back with a vengeance.
I clicked through and selected Giga Drain as my second free move or first TM in this case.
It was for sustainability.
Beedrill was fast and deadly. But he was fragile.
I needed a way to recover health mid-battle, and Giga Drain let me chip away at foes while patching myself up. It wasn't a perfect answer, but in this world, every edge counted.
Now though it was time to battle.
The trainer was a wiry boy, probably seventeen, with a serious face and a Sandslash that moved like it had seen battle after battle. His name was Tate. He didn't have any relation to the Hoenn twins, unfortunately. The only notable thing was that he had six badges already.
The fight was simple. Two-on-two. No substitutions.
Rhyhorn went first.
It was a gamble.
I wanted to give him more real battle time, to let him get used to pressure and pain.
He lasted… less that 30 seconds.
*Boom!*
An Aqua Tail landed solid and sent the poor guy to the walls.
*Crash*
Azumarill used Aqua Tail of all things with Rhyhorn crumpling under it like paper.
Beedrill came in guns blazing or in this case Lance. Poison Jab glowing, wings a blur, fury like a dagger in motion.
But Tate's second Pokémon was a Magmar.
Super effective.
Even with Drill Run, Beedrill couldn't dodge the incoming wide-spread Flamethrower. But surprisingly unlike other times, he was able to tank it twice full-on before fainting. Is it just me or did his endurance improve?
And just like that, I was done.
I clenched my fist, fighting down the heat in my chest.
My excitement was at an all-time high.
Even more, so because it was public.
There were always grunts watching me.
I walked toward the challenger, forcing my face to stay calm.
"You've earned the right to challenge the gym leader," I said cooly.
Tate blinked. "Wait, that's it?"
"Yeah. You beat me. You go on." I turned before he could say anything else.
The gym's back door closed behind me with a hard click.
I found myself in my room later that night, watching the battle footage back in silence. Rhyhorn had barely reacted to the Aqua Tail. It wasn't just the typing. He had flinched. Gotten spooked.
I could fix that.
He wasn't useless. Just inexperienced. Like me.
Plus there's a reason why you need a full team. Battles like that are just not fair with not much counterplay, it's why I need a third option quick.
...
Two days later, I was sitting beside Giovanni in a sleek black car heading toward the Indigo Plateau. The League had summoned all eight Gym Leaders for a closed-door summit.
Giovanni sat in silence for most of the trip, reading something on his sleek tablet. I didn't interrupt. I never did unless I had to.
Eventually, we pulled into the side entrance and made our way to one of the League's upper conference rooms. Inside were several Gym Leaders I recognized. Erika from Celadon. Surge from Vermilion.
And…
"Harold Natsume," Giovanni said softly as we entered, nodding toward a tall man dressed in a pale violet suit.
The man in his early 30s looked refined. With dark blue hair tied neatly back, and piercing eyes.
After some casual greetings and small talk, he approached us directly.
"So, this is your son, Mr Sakaki," he said, his voice even.
I nodded and simply said my name. "Silver."
"Mm. Serious. Like your father." Harold's tone shifted slightly. "My daughter could use the company. She doesn't have many friends."
I raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't mind meeting her."
"That would be great." he offered a mild smile. "We'll set up a play date later."
Giovanni gave me a sidelong glance but didn't talk.
It seems like a go-ahead sign.
Later, as we walked the halls, I looked up at my father.
"Hey," I said casually, "do we have any Dark-types lying around?"
Giovanni raised a brow. "For the girl?"
"Yeah, I don't want her poking around in my head."
A pause.
"Fine," he said. "Before you leave you will get a companion."
A few days passed.
I found myself back in the gym, standing outside with Rhyhorn, tossing him chunks of spicy, marinated fruit I'd had specially prepared.
He snorted at first, acting like he didn't want it, but his tail swayed. The scent had him twitching.
"Go on. I know you want it."
He stared at me.
Then, with a huff, stomped closer and snapped the fruit out of my hand, crunching with visible pleasure.
"You're such a tsundere," I muttered.
He flicked his tail like he'd heard it, which he probably didn't.
But he didn't walk away either.
In our next battle, he lasted longer.
Took a [Water Gun] and still managed to use Bulldoze. He didn't win, but he landed solid hits. That was enough.
I didn't need perfection, just progress. The real progress is if you can beat your yesterday self in a battle.
Now that Beedrill had both of his new moves in his arsenal, it was time to do some repetitions and sets. That night, back at my desk, another message blinked on the screen.
[You've reached 75 wins. You have unlocked a slot!]
I tapped my desk in thought.
Beedrill was my ace but wouldn't be a part of my gym team.
Rhyhorn was growing.
Maybe a member with more maneuverability?
Getting to the keyboard, I start to type out a Pokemon and request an item on top of that.
Looking at the time my mind feels a little hazy, I have a play date tomorrow.