Hard Enough-Chapter 287 - Silly Mouse summer camp beginnings!!!

Mia bounced in the back seat of the car as she returned to Pewter City.

She’d been back a bunch of times, but it was fun knowing that she was done with her trip around Kanto. She’d done everything she’d wanted to, and now it was time to meet up with old friends and compare notes. She’d run into Humhrey on the road, but damn if it was hard to find the others.

How had Jules gone? What about Hilary, did she catch her team of all-female pokemon like she’d wanted to? Or Dora? What adventures had she gone on?

What about John? Was he still insisting that people call him Silver? He honestly would have an easier time getting people to call him blue with his red hair. She really hoped that he was still trying to do that thing where he found the darkest spot he could to loom ominous and brood. With him and Gary at this training camp, it was bound to be hilarious watching them fight for the same dark corner.

She giggled to herself. The poor guy had been in an accident a few days before the challenge with Brock and had to have his entire head shaved.

It was such a shame; he’d had glorious red locks.

“What are you giggling about?” Gary said from the front seat where he was sipping on a milkshake.

Mia grinned, her milkshake being licked clean by her Dragonair. The giant noodle was spread out on the other seat, his entire body wrapped around the metal cup. He was squirming and wiggling as much as he could to get every drop.

Mia happily recorded it on her pokedex for review later.

Gary huffed. “That’s not how you’re supposed to use that! It’s meant to record academic views and pokemon in nature or pokemon utilising moves. Using it to record your pokemon being dumb is just…” Gary shook his head. “You’re cheapening it!”

Mia merely shrugged. “What if a professor wants to see what reaction pokemon have to certain meals? Their diet needs to be recorded as well.”

Gary narrowed his eyes. “But you’re not doing it for that reason, are you?” he pointed out.

Mia grinned shamelessly. “Nope! Dragonair’s just so cute I want to record him all the time! Look at how derpy he’s being, trying to get the last drop out!” she gushed.

Gary’s eyes involuntarily glanced over, and his lips twitched upwards before he looked away. “Urgh, I still can’t believe you of all people got a Dragonair to join your team!”

“It’s because I’m me, that I have a Dragonair!” Mia replied. Silly Mouse backed her up with a wise nod and Gary faceplamed.

“That doesn’t make…,” Gary started to say only to pause. “No actually it makes all too much sense to me. Damn it! I’ve spent too long with you! You’ve infected me!” Gary mock wailed.

“Please I am perfection! You if anything, corrupted me!” Mia replied as she adopted a fainting pose. “I was a young maiden!” she declared with a dramatic swoon. Silly Mouse took her hand in his paws and patted consolingly.

Gary scoffed but Mia could see him smiling into the mirror as they passed yet another landmark of Pewter in the Museum. “That place any good?” He asked.

“It’s amazing. You didn’t go while you were here?” Mia asked.

“Nah, I was just looking to get as far ahead of the others as I could,” Gary explained.

“Huh.” Mia blinked. “You know that’s kind of sad. Have you only been going on epic adventures since I showed up?”

“What? No! That’s not the case at all!” Gary spluttered, trying to deny what was obvious to Mia.

“Are you just a big, shy guy? Do you not like exploring the unknown?” she said calmly.

Gary growled at her causing her to giggle and settle back down. “But seriously how did you go about getting so many pokemon for your team if you weren’t exploring?”

Gary stared out of the window and it was only as they began to slow at a set of lights right before their eventual stop that Gary spoke up. “I’ve been preparing to go on my journey for ages. I looked into pokemon teams and where to find their base forms if they were unevolved. I created a timeline of when to be where and at what time to give myself the best chance at catching the pokemon I’d earmarked.”

Gary tapped at various pokeballs. “Nidoran, Spearow, Rattata, Growlithe, and Abra, were all planned for with me having their dietary needs set up in advance.”

“No wonder your pokemon team is boosted. You literally had everything lined up for them before they even joined so they would have hit the ground running.” Mia said before smirking. “Let me guess though, you planned your team moves out in advance as well didn’t you?”

“Yeah I did,” Gary grouched. Before throwing his hands in the air. “I just hadn’t encountered things like Meta movesets is all! My team were specced for wrecking other teams and taking names!”

Mia hummed and shot him a knowing look. “Betcha you’ve enjoyed getting to sit in on some of the lessons Brock ran eh?”

Gary grumbled and pointedly looked out the window. When Mia’s smile grew, he scowled. “Don’t say it! And don’t mention it to anyone!” he said as they slowed to a stop.

“I didn’t say anything!” Mia singsonged as she picked up her Dragonair while Silly Mouse hopped up on her shoulders as they exited the car.

It was time to catch up with her friends!

Gary glared at the back of his friend as she ran into the crowd that had built up around the newly established fenceline of the Pewter Gym.

He took a moment to grumble, “Damn girl needs to work on her entrances.”

He pointedly ignored the twitching shoulders of the driver next to him as he drew himself up. “How do I look?” he asked.

“Like a young sir that has a mind for style but also has the ability to throw down,” the driver said after giving him a once-over.

Gary grinned and opened the door, ready to show off his swag.

First impressions were always important. If there was one thing the summer study camps that his Gramps ran taught him, it was that first impressions matter.

You could rule school if you made good enough first impressions.

Gary adopted his signature smirk and inspected what would be his stomping ground for the next week.

Everyone seemed busy with there being a ton of trainers milling about with some people lining up at the registration desk. Dennis, Jackson and a pair of Graveler wearing sunglasses were standing behind a trio of trainers acting like receptionists in a large tent while a fence ran around the entrance of the Gym.

“The Gym is closed for the week! This has been advertised for months now! If you are attempting to challenge, there are only limited spaces in the fortnight before the end of the circuit!” chimed a voice over a set of speakers.

A few trainers grumbled at this and marched off, shooting the Gym filthy looks that transferred to the trainers that were being let in.

Gary was just thinking about how he was going to saunter up when Mia marched back and grabbed his hand. “Come on Gary! We get priority access cause I’m a Gym-sponsored trainer!” she declared, unmindful of the heated glares that her announcement drew from some of the crowd.

Gary allowed his smirk to grow, knowing that haters were always going to hate.

Mia stepped to the side of the line and marched them past the receptionists, one of who was growling at a trainer.

“No I don’t care if you bought a house in Pewter! The League still lists you as a trainer that is based in Hoenn!” When the trainer tried to dispute this, the gym trainer lifted a big red stamp and slammed it into their face.

“No! Rejected! We know what you rich types are like! And I know my Geography! I know where Crossgate Town is!”

“You dare!” shouted the trainer and pokeballs were drawn. Both the receptionist and the trainer marched off to the still-accessible battle courts to the side of the Gym.

Dennis slotted into the seat behind the table without batting an eye. “Next!” he called while nodding as Mia approached. His eyes narrowed as he scrutinised her carefully.

Mia didn’t so much as pause, continuing to walk up only to offer him a high five that he then had to repeat with Silly Mouse.

“Nice to see you again, Mia,” he said before waving her through. The Graveler made a show of unclipping a rope from next to the desk and ushering her and Gary through, only for them to enter another sectioned-off tent with stacks of bags laid out and yet more attendants.

“Hey! Why’s she get to—" called someone from behind them, which just made Gary feel even better.

He was handed a sheet with a short questionnaire on it that he slowly worked his way through. Next to him, Mia rolled her eyes. “Just circle them randomly! Come on! It doesn’t matter!” she whined, which just made Gary slow down to further antagonise her.

Before she could get too worked up he handed the information back before moving along.

“Get your security lanyards here! Take a quick photo for our system, and then please move along to collect your bags! Each bag contains everything you’ll need for the coming training camp!” called the rainbow-haired girl who had allowed him to make his epic entrance on the first badge challenge.

The girl waved at them both and Gary nodded in respect.

When his time came, Gary made sure to pose with his hand cupping his chin for his security badge, which he was super glad he didn’t have to retake. It looked awesome even if Mia snickered at it when he slipped the lanyard over his neck.

A quick glance at the goodies bag showed that there were a bunch of pamphlets, some pens, simple notepads, and what looked like a bunch of sample treats for trainers and their pokemon with attached business cards. There was also a training singlet and shirt that he could wear announcing he’d attended the school of hard rocks.

Gary gave them points for style.

Gary carefully went through everything, deciding what he’d store and what he’d throw only to stiffen as Mia collected all the sugary snacks in her bag, ripped them open and then proceeded to inhale them.

“Urgh… Mia I’m not sure having so much sugar before we start was a good idea,” he pointed out.

In response, Mia just grinned wider and tried to grab his bag only for him to plant a hand right into her face.

“Yeah, no. One huge dose of sugar is enough. I’m not about to toss more fuel into that furnace.” He glanced around the rock garden with the raised boulders that made up the entry area of the actual Gym. “Come on, let’s get you handed over to your friends. They can handle this,” he said.

“Oh good idea!” she shouted before whipping around. Gary ducked her giant braid and followed her into what had previously been the reception area of the gym, only to find a bunch of trainers milling about.

“Jules! Hilary! Dora!” Mia shouted as she locked eyes with a group that was laughing and talking. The named kids all turned and beamed as Mia charged up to them, leaving Gary behind.

Gary took a moment to inspect the others in the room. He’d been keeping an eye on several trainers loitering around, the biggest names being Brawly, Roxanne, and Flannery.

All of them were Hoenn-born, with Brawly being the trainer everyone this year needed to watch out for. He had an impressive win rate, with only trainers like Brock and some other highly skilled trainers denying him a clean sheet this season.

Then there was the dark horse, who had only recently gained some attention, with a few feature pieces highlighting her as the other most likely contender to take out the top spot this year.

Her victory against Brock’s Elite challenge marked her as the best performer so far and that was a strong metric that a lot of others had faltered at.

Oddly, she was shooting Brawly looks, and Gary couldn’t work out if they were hopeful or angry.

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Flannery looked… well she looked pissed. Sort of like the times when Gary played a prank on Daisy, only this looked worse.

Flannery kept glaring at Brawly who was doing his utmost to keep smiling and greeting people that were approaching him.

Gary clenched his fist as he looked over the current ‘best’ in Kanto’ as they were called.

They’d earned that name after their showing against Brock and his Elite Challenge.

Gary was going to follow their example. He had a spot booked right at the end of the circuit when he’d be at his strongest, but he still wasn’t confident. Most people who challenged and had strong showings were trainers who had two years at least under their belts.

Most first-year Journey trainers were crushed as the gap between their Pokemon and that of a Pokemon that fought against the Champion was demonstrated.

Gary tore his eyes away from the power trio. He’d get to them later, probably challenge them to a quick match or two to see if there were any gaps in their team. Both were speciality trainers, which meant they’d be open to a few pokemon he had.

He wasn’t worried about Flannery. Blastoise could take her easy.

He cast his eyes back to Mia seeing if it was a good time to introduce himself, only to find her fleecing other kids of their sugar with the other girls she was friends with. All of them shared knowing smirks as they devoured their stolen goods.

Yeah… She could be someone else's problem for now.

Gary decided to make himself scarce by ducking into the tunnel where he could remain unmolested.

“Who wants to play a game of tag? Because you all have no choice!” Mia shouted.

He shimmied into the tunnel and shut it quickly behind him as Mia started tagging people. She’d be put in a time-out soon enough, Gary concluded.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a gruff voice said from behind him.

Gary whirled only to find a boy his age lurking in the dark tunnel.

“Me? I’m scoping things out!” he said, not wanting to say that he was trying to evade Mia; that wouldn’t be cool.

“Hmmm, so you’ve got an iota of intellect then,” the boy said, stepping forward into the light to reveal he had a mane of red hair and a single eye peeking through his fringe. He also had a long dark blue coat that was so cool! It had buckles and pockets all over it!

Gary had tried to buy it, but his bodyguards insisted he not. Something about it being too edgy? Gary didn’t care right now. It looked cool, and Gary wanted it.

Not that he’d say as much to the other guy. Gary jerked his chin upwards. “Names Gary,” he said casually.

“I know who you are. I am Silver,” announced the redhead.

Gary cursed. Damn, he should have introduced himself with his nickname of Blue! Damn it! This kid was beating him out on coolness just by lurking in the dark tunnel and introducing himself!

Gary knew how to even the scales though. “So… how’d you go with challenging the Gyms?” he said leadingly.

Silver sneered. “I don’t measure my success by following something so pedestrian,” he said.

Gary snorted. “So you didn’t do very well then eh? It’s fine we can’t all qualify in our first year for the circuit tournament,” Gary said with a calm shake of his head.

Silver growled and whipped his badge case out. “I have all eight badges!” he announced.

Gary smirked, about to show off his own, much more impressive haul only to blink. “Hey? What’s up with those ribbons?” he asked, noting the pair of ribbons at the bottom of the badge case.

Silver hurriedly snapped the badge case shut. “Those are nothing!” he growled.

Before Gary could demand answers, the door behind him creaked open and Mia’s voice carried into the tunnel. “Gaaaaaaaaary? Oh, Gary? Are you in here Gary?”

Gary shuddered. “Shit! Hide!” he said as he ran further down the tunnel with Silver following him without hesitation.

“Urgh! Mia’s here? Damn! I was hoping she’d have gotten lost or something!” Silver growled.

“Nah, she came with me,” Gary said.

Silver shot him a disdainful look. “Why would you hang out with that dork?”

Gary stopped at that. “She’s not a dork!” he said before rethinking that. “Okay! She’s a massive dork, but she’s cool… in her own way!” he said, unsure why it annoyed him that this other guy was dissing Mia.

Silver sniffed only for a giggle to catch them. “Found you!” sailed Mia as she darted after them only to skid to a halt. “Oh! John! Hiya!”

Gary snorted. “John?”

John growled and spun about on Mia, his coat swishing as buckles clattered and snapped with the move. Damn, but Gary didn’t want to give him the style points for it with his lameness being dragged out by Mia.

“—always doing this! I want you to call me Silver!” snapped John.

Mia just smiled widely and stepped into his personal space to wrap him in a hug. “Sure thing Silver, sure thing.”

Silver stiffened but didn’t push Mia away. He shot Gary an annoyed look before giving Mia a single squeeze.

Mia stepped back a moment later, bouncing as she did so. “Good to see you, Silver,” she said before turning and skipping away.

“She really hasn’t changed at all,” Silver sighed.

Gary offered a shrug. “I only met her this year.”

They shared a commiserating look.

Mia’s voice echoed down the tunnel back to them. “Hey guys! Gary and Silver are being edgelords in the tunnel! They had the lights off. They were brooding together and everything! Oh, and Silver’s it! I tagged him just now!”

Silver stiffened. “That conniving wench!” he growled before his gaze swivelled around to Gary who started running only for Silver to lunge and catch him a moment later.

Gary cursed and chased after him, forced by Mia to rejoin the rest of the kids’ with their game.

He was so going to yank Mia by her stupid rattail braid for this. He darted past Silver and gave him a nod, knowing that Silver was safe for now.

You couldn’t get the butcher back after all.

He’d get him later and show everyone how good he was.

He gave it a few hours tops, and he’d be ruling the roost.

Forrest felt like his boots were coated in cement, with how heavy they were. Each step that saw him getting closer to home made his gut clench.

It was worse when they entered Pewter City proper, with all the families he’d spent years growing up around waving and greeting him. The smiles were fine, but more than a few had this look in their eyes when they saw him.

They nudged each other and whispered as he walked, only for the whispers to start running ahead. More than a few grannies started popping up in random spots along the path with kindly smiles.

Ash didn’t notice them but Misty started hanging next to him, shooting him concerned looks. Forrest tried to put on a brave face but found it harder and harder the closer he got to home.

“—going to let us train against his Elite team? That’d make it so worth it!” Ash babbled away from his place in the lead. On his shoulder, Pikachu nodded along happily.

“How are you feeling?” Misty asked, and Forrest took a long breath to steady himself. He did not get the chance to answer, as the sounds of gears clunking and tires spinning caused him to look behind him.

A gang of three boys rode up to them laughing and chasing each other.

Forrest braced himself, ready for them to say something only for them to skid to a halt.

“Well, well well, look who’s come back!” declared Taylor, the leader of the gang.

“Vinny,” Forrest, said, looking around at the other faces. There were a few that were missing. “What happened to Carl and Paul?”

“They got shipped off to boarding school in Johto!” snapped Taylor.

Forrest nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he said. “You guys still out riding the streets eh?”

“Ch! Like some cops are going to stop us! We’re not scared of them!”

Forrest sighed. “Well, when either my brother or the local police take you in I hope you learn your lesson then.”

“Is that really all you have to say to us?” snapped Taylor.

Forrest considered them. There had been so much build up with talking to them and working out how they’d bump into each other.

He’d known it was going to happen.

Pewter, if you hung out in certain areas, it wasn’t all that big after all. It was nothing like Saffron with its multiple highrise buildings and parks. It had nothing on the docks or the piers of Vermillion. Celadon had the kids that ran the mall with their own stores to call their groups hangouts.

Pewter didn’t have that. It had parks and wide open paths that spanned the entire city, but on a bike, you could cover it in an hour or two, tops.

So he was always going to encounter his old friends.

But… seeing them now, knowing they hadn’t moved on in the slightest?

It was a strange sensation to know that you’d moved beyond someone. He’d spent hours with these guys. He’d honestly assumed when he went on his Journey he would have gone with a few of them only; it didn’t work out that way.

“Yeah, that’s all I have to say to you. Hope you live a good life,” Forrest said as he turned away from them.

“Oh hell no, you don’t just turn your back on—” Taylor snarled, his bike hitting the ground as he tried to grab Forrest.

Forrest whirled, and something within him responded with indignation. He was beyond these children now! They were not his friends, and they would not touch him.

Forrest levelled a glare upon Taylor and the boy stepped back suddenly.

The two still on their bikes likewise backed up slightly. “C-come on Taylor! Let’s get out of here!” called Alex.

Taylor nodded and hurried away.

Forrest watched him ride away and it was only as he got over the rise and out of sight that Forrest allowed himself to relax while still trying to hold onto the sensation that had risen with his indignation.

Misty shot him a look. “You finally got the look down, eh?”

“I’m not sure if I’d say I’ve got it ‘down’ so much that I know what it feels like when I get it right,” Forrest said, rubbing thoughtfully at his chest.

Misty nudged him. “It’s a step forward though, no?”

Ash grinned. “Congratulations, Forrest! I thought you were going to have to fight that guy!”

Forrest shook his head. “He wasn’t worth my time,” he said, knowing it was true.

He put a hand to his pokebelt, knowing that anything that Taylor would have had wouldn’t have been able to stand up to any of Forrest’s pokemon, even at their worst.

Forrest waved his friends on. “Come on, let’s get home. I told everyone we’d be in today and thankfully there hasn’t been any—” His gaze fell upon a strangely familiar trio sitting on a park bench enjoying some ice cream. “—distractions,” Forrest finished as he scrutinised the trio.

The trio adopted innocent looks only for Forrest to walk past them while pointedly watching them.

Misty tilted her head, obviously confused as to why this trio were familiar to her while Ash just nodded. “Man, that Granny was one hair old hag! I’d hate to be her beautician!” Ash said with his usual volume.

The ‘granny’ of the bunch, the smallest of the trio, twitched. “Young people have no respect these days!”

“Sure thing granny, let’s get you back to the old folks home where you belong,” The blue-haired nurse said as she wheeled the granny away with the other young woman following along.

“That was sus right?” Forrest said as he continued to walk with his head, watching the trio. His instincts warned him to watch them as though they might suddenly try and turn around and try and mug them.

When they didn’t, Forrest merely grew more nervous. Ash shrugged it off while Misty shared a look with Forrest knowingly.

“Let’s forget it, come on. We don’t want to be late!” she said, hurrying the group along to the Gym only to crest the final hill and find a series of tents and fencing had been set up for the training camp along with what looked like temporary facilities for everyone.

Forrest looked past that to the Gym itself. Nothing major had changed, and Forrest expected that if he walked in he’d find the usual faces waiting for him. Dennis would be working through the paperwork while Rocko breezed through it so he could slack off.

He wasn’t as familiar with this year’s hires as them but he’d recognise them he was sure.

When he reached the front reception, the receptionists perked up. “Forrest? Brock’s been waiting for you. The Arena is prepped. Are you ready?”

Forrest nodded, knowing this was probably one of the stupidest things he’d ever done, but when he’d suggested it, Brock had thought it a good way of announcing himself as having returned. As for the actual fight… well He had a trick or two up his sleeve that he was hoping his brother wouldn’t expect.

Forrest bid his friends goodbye and walked up the tunnel to the entrance. The rainbow-haired girl who’d been in charge of their professional image grinned.

“The prodigal brother returns. How’s that sound?”

“A bit over the top, but…” Forrest swept his hand across his pokebelt. “Something I hope I can grow into,” he said, meeting Rachel’s eyes firmly.

Rachel met his gaze easily, and the spark that he’d started to feel was building up within him. “It’s good to see you again, Forrest. Good luck out there, and welcome home!” she said, stepping in and offering him a quick hug.

Forrest merely chuckled and watched her leave before taking the time to sit and simply breathe in the familiar scents.

When it was time to begin, he walked down the tunnel. This too was something he’d long anticipated, but oddly everything he’d imagined was how it went down.

The lights were dimmed, and he emerged through the tunnel to the sound of Rachel welcoming him back. Then the lights came on overlooking the stands, and his expectations fell away as the crowd was revealed to be a bunch of familiar faces.

Faces of old grannies who had babysat him led what looked like a cheer session while the kids from school filled up an entire section by themselves. They waved large banners welcoming him back while Gym Trainers he’d worked with stood in the stairways waving in greeting.

His family had front-and-centre seats, but more than a few of the younger ones were looking to break out of their seats to run to him. Thankfully, they were contained, as Forrest wasn’t sure if he could muster the will to fight if they started crawling all over him.

Rachel performed a series of flips that went unnoticed as everyone cheered for his return.

Forrest swallowed and resisted the urge to tear up. Now wasn’t the time.

It was perhaps the best welcome home he could have ever received, and it made him want to leave things as they were.

For a minute Forrest didn’t even think about it, before he realised how weird it was that Brock hadn’t been announced. Then his brain kicked into gear, and he realised Brock was letting him have this moment. He was holding off on entering to give Forrest time.

Forrest took a long breath, raised his hands into the air in two fists, and then brought them down. “I’m ready!” he shouted into the darkness.

The crowd, if anything, redoubled their cheers at his announcement but now their gazes turned to track towards where they suspected Brock would appear.

Brock surprised everyone when the arena lights activated by already being on the podium. His gaze locked with that of Forrest.

“You have returned,” he declared, his words smashing through the sound of cheers and being heard by everyone in the stands despite their best efforts.

Forrest had to give it to him. He made it look effortless.

“Now, it’s time to see how much you’ve learned as a trainer,” Brock stated, his arms crossed over his chest.

Forrest stepped forward, for the first time noticing that a whole cadre of kids his age were sitting on the opposite side of the stands from his family.

They would be his rivals if he made it to competing in the final tournament. They were watching him eagerly, and Forrest found himself standing taller under their scrutiny.

Let them watch. Let them see his growth!

Forrest stood on the podium and watched as the randomiser activated.

No one expected him to win, but Forrest aimed to prove them wrong. He was a bit annoyed that Roxanne had snuck in before he could exploit Brock’s weakness regarding Explosion compositions, but then again, it was just a sign of his growth, wasn’t it?

Forrest knew now that he couldn’t expect things to stay still. You had to move with the times or be left behind.

A picture of a pokemon appeared on the screen, and Forrest chuckled at the picture of Sanchez staring back.

It was time to show everyone how far he’d come.