Gary kept his hands in his jeans pockets, staring at the sparkles in the water.

June had her hands clasped together under her chin, letting out a long awed sound as she gazed upon the glittering ocean.

Below the two young Trainers, the water was spread far out, beyond the limits of their vision. But it was what was within that that had their attention, countless lights floating, swimming, vanishing, appearing throughout.

Finneon. The Wing Fish Pokemon. They absorb sunlight in the day, and as a result, at night, the pink parts of their fins cause them to glow underwater.

Lumineon. The Neon Pokemon. Finneon’s evolution. By flashing the patterns on its fins, they can attract prey from the far depths of the ocean. In particular, they love Starmie.

Gary put away his Pokedex.

“This is the kind of stuff that makes me envy Water type Pokemon Trainers,” June gushed. “Romantic, isn’t it?” She nudged Gary.

“One day you’ll grow up.” Gary looked away and started to walk.

June sucked her teeth and walked after him.

Between the twinkling water and the starry night sky, it was as if there were two skies, one on the ground and the one above. The view was absolutely magical.

“Well, the Gym certainly has to be somewhere around here,” June mentioned.

“How? I can’t see a building for miles. There’s nothing but sand! We should be-”

They both turned to the water and came to a stop.

“So, you hear that, too?” June asked nervously, not looking away from the ocean.

“Do you see that?” Gary asked her.

“Yeah,” June whispered, and started backing up with Gary as the water began to vibrate and ripple.

Something was rising up from the bottom.

Something they both quickly realized was gigantic.

“Gary, when did it get so...?” June swallowed.

“Dark out...?” Gary finished.

The lights from the Pokemon in the water had gone away now, actually darkening the beach, and that huge thing was coming up quick, the water quaking, rising, and separating as it finally broke the surface.

Gary and June screamed and ran away as some kind of huge, black submarine roared out of the water and reached for the land.

It slammed powerfully on the sand.

Gary and June were caught in the uprising of sand and fell as more of it rained upon them. They covered their heads as they turned around to face the situation.

It was a terrifying sight. The huge, imposing structure was still and quiet, the water behind it still stirring noisily.

Remaining sand was blowing through the air in Gary’s face, and he blew and spit out against it all. Closing his eyes, Gary stood up and wiped at his face with both hands.

June remained down, staring at the hunk of metal.

There came a mechanical noise through the silent night, and something at the top of the machine was rising up from inside. It was small and unrecognizable. It came to a halt and started moving around. “HAUL ‘EM UP!!” a voice shouted, seemingly from the figure.

A human? A man? Gary thought.

With a wet, rushing sound, something else large, but far smaller than the machine, came from out of the water. It landed on the sand right next to the machine. A large collection of fish! The things were flopping and crying out in different tones of voices.

Gary squinted as he tried to see the bright, glowing collective of Pokemon.

“The Finneon and Lumineon.” June was climbing to her feet. “He’s got them trapped in something!”

“COME ON, IT’S LATE!! I LOSE A SINGLE FISH, YOUR PAYCHECKS ARE MINE THIS WEEK!!” the man on top of the submarine shouted.

Gary lowered his eyes to the glowing, flapping fish, and then back to the top of the machine. “What? Who do these guys think they are?! They can’t do this! Charizard, let’s go!” Gary tossed a Poke Ball quickly.

The Poke Ball opened midair and sent out Charizard.

Charizard roared before even landing and stomped two steps forward.

“HEY! WHO GOES THERE??!” the man shouted. He wore all dark clothing, which was hard to see clearly at night. “NOT ANOTHER MOVE!! ARE YA THIEVES??”

“OF COURSE NOT!!” Gary ran up next to his Charizard. “Who are you?? What are you doing to those Pokemon?”

“Savin’ ‘em, sport,” the man grinned.

Gary could see the fish all flopping inside of a black net, some of the flashing ones looking like jumping stars caught falling from the sky. He turned back to the man with a glare. “You’re killing them! Who are you guys?”

“We’re businessmen. Why don’t you go mind your own.” His smile was gone, replaced with a sneer.

Gary growled. “So are you fishermen, then? Surely you have more humane ways of catching your stuff? I know they’ll die anyway but aren’t there laws about the treatment of the animals?”

“We ain’t fishermen, boy.” He gave a wave of his arm. “We’re Pokemon poachers, in fact.”

“Poachers!” June shouted with rage.

A loud, mechanical noise burst through the peaceful night as a slot slid open in the side of the submarine and something came out. It looked like it was made of glass. The large object landed hard in the sand and immediately began to slide towards the bunch of Pokemon.

What is that? Gary then gasped. A tank? A fish tank??

The thing did greatly resemble an aquarium, the rectangular shape missing only one side where it was now scooping up the Pokemon as it slid into them. The Finneon and Lumineon flopped inside of the empty tank helplessly. Once inside, a clear piece of material rose from the missing section, enclosing the Pokemon within. Opposite this now closed off section, the other end of the tank was still within the submarine, and from there, water flowed in, filling up the tank in well under a minute.

“Ya heard. Poachers! We catch rare Pokemon and push ‘em off for profit! These things aren’t all that valuable normally, but zoos love it when we sing ‘em up a sad sob tale about finding abused Pokemon, or neglected ones, or abandoned ones. But the best part is when we don’t even have to lie about it! Finneon and Lumineon are actually quite beautiful after absorbing sunlight all day, and let off that energy at night! People of all kinds, kids, adults, and the like, love having that kind of beauty in the hands of a Poke Ball. Marriage proposals, kids playing around, people just use these little things for their own enjoyment! And guess what? They don’t take very good care of ‘em. They keep ‘em in small ass tanks by windows so they can take in the sun and then have a lovely night light. Ten of these things in a five gallon tank. Torture! There’s nowhere near enough oxygen going around in there. But do you think these kids, or adults care about that? NO!”

Gary’s heart leaped at the increase in volume in the man’s voice.

“ALL they care about is their personal pleasure. We’re getting these guys shipped off to a nice zoo to be in far better living spaces.” At Gary and June’s silence, the man smiled. “Now, head on home, or collect your little Pokemon and get your Badges or whatever you two are up to.” He looked June over and then smirked, turning to Gary. “She ain’t bad, boy. Surely you don’t wanna miss out on a private night with a cutie like that, eh?”

June gasped angrily, a look of disgust taking over her face.

Gary shouted out, pissed now. “Charizard, FLAMETHROWER ATTACK NOW!!!”

Charizard roared and used his attack, hitting the submarine.

The man on top of it stumbled back, holding up one arm but watching.

The move sizzled against the big object and eventually went out.

Swiftly, the man grabbed at his waist and held a large, dark object and pointed it at Charizard. He now had an angry look aimed at Gary. “Kid, are you aware of what an automatic handgun is?”

Gary’s eyes were huge now as he eyed the thing the man was holding.

“It’s something a lot more powerful and a whole lot faster at attacking than a lot of Pokemon are. I’m no Pokemon Trainer, so I don’t know the specifics of what makes Pokemon able to handle blazing flames or powerful punches and lightning and all that good stuff, but I do know, most can’t handle a bullet. And I also know, for those who can, there’s grenades to sort ‘em out. So, kid, please put away the dragon.”

Gary nodded, raising his empty hands. “Okay, okay. Please, just let me do it.”

The man lowered his gun and laughed. He then waved it at Gary before lowering it again. “You see, this is why we don’t use Pokemon in this group. There’s no point! If I obtained even the most powerful Pokemon on Earth and only used it to battle resistant Pokemon and Trainers, I’m missing out on a profit right there. So we stick to weakening profitable Pokemon, with guns and bombs.”

Gary looked to the filled tank with the Finneon and Lumineon swimming through it.

The tank was crammed, the fish barely able to really swim around in it.

Gary turned to June, his arms still in the air, shaking.

June’s body was also shaking noticeably.

“Don’t feel bad, kid. We do a lot of good for the world. Pokemon we catch become major attractions at resorts and stuff. We’re the good guys, you know? We just make good money off of what we do, and sometimes we gotta lie to get our point across, but we’ve done far more good than harm. My name’s... Moscow. Call me Moscow. Who are you?”

With a startling sound, the tank began to move back inside of the submarine.

Gary looked from the tank, to the man, Moscow. His eyes tightened, unsure of what to do. I can’t let them take the Pokemon, Gary told himself. If anything, this guy can’t be allowed to just get away! Not when I have Charizard with me. This guy has to be stopped! Yeah! Gary balled his fists. His teeth tightened. “Attack the man this time, Charizard! SAVE THE POKEMON!!”

Charizard roared, his wings spreading, and he used Flamethrower, aiming his Fire at Moscow.

Moscow called out in surprise. “What?? Hey!” his voice cracked.

The ocean behind the submarine Moscow was standing on seemed to erupt with a powerful explosion.

Moscow wailed out and ducked.

Something huge shot out from a wave of the ocean and landed in front of the Flamethrower. It looked as if the water itself had arrived to protect Moscow, taking the blow for him! The water fell into the sand and revealed something frightening.

The monster roared, towering high over everything in the area. Its voice was enormous. Nothing should have been comfortable responding back to it.

A strong roar from another monster burst through the silence after the water monster’s. It wasn’t as loud, but the fact anything could try and compete grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Ch-Ch-Charizard!” Gary stammered. He swallowed nervously.

Charizard balled his fists and stepped forward, leaning closer to the big Pokemon.

“Charizard, no!” Gary ordered. He turned to Moscow. “I thought you didn’t use Pokemon! What is this?”

“He doesn’t!” the monster responded. “This baby belongs to me! You’re both in some big trouble! Or at least you are, boy!”

Gary turned to the Pokemon between them all. He could have sworn the voice came from it. But, how? Gary squinted at the beast, and he finally noticed something standing on the head of it.

It was a human! “Gyarados, down!”

Instantly, Gyarados lowered its head and stopped once its chin hit the sand.

A woman leaped from the top of Gyarados’ head and rested her hands on her hips, frowning at Gary and June. “You’re in some huge trouble, kids. I’m witness to your actions against Moscow. He’s a protected official. This is as bad as attacking the police! You’re going to remain here until they arrive. I’ve already contacted them.”

Gyarados rose up, towering over everyone.

“Good! We need them here! Moscow and his crew are just a bunch of crooks! We need the cops here!”

The woman scrunched up her face in confusion. “Huh?”

“Get the police here! You’re all under arrest! Or are the cops in on this, too??” Gary glared at her.

The woman had a light skin tone, though not too pale. She towered over Gary and most men Gary had ever seen. This woman had some shape to her, as well, and Gary had no resistance looking her over, observing the thick body in front of him. Powerful legs, wide hips that blew Gary’s mind, and a hefty chest beneath a strong, sexy face of a fully grown, absolute goddess of a woman! She was what came out of legends in Gary’s eyes. Her wet, black hair stopped below her shoulders. That was what did it for Gary, topping off the pie for him. Her entire body was drenched. “Um, we’re the ones calling the cops, here. You’re aware of that, right?” She laughed lightly.

“Yeah, and you’re the one breaking the law! Are you aware it’s illegal to treat Pokemon like that? To harm them and lie to zoos about how you found them? We’re exposing you all and there’s nothing you can do about it! Guns or not!”

The woman shifted her hips in her really tight, light blue jeans Gary’s eyes were attracted to like a magnet being forced to another one. “I think you’re a little confused about what side of the war you’re on. Listen, the boys are coming, but maybe I can explain this all away if you-”

“This kid needs to be locked up!” Moscow shouted from his ship. “You’re here a lot earlier than I expected... You saw what he did to me! Don’t listen to the brat!”

Gary, Charizard, June, and the new woman looked to Moscow.

He had a fuming face as he looked down at the three of them.

“Wait... You’re not with them?” Gary questioned, turning to the woman. “Who are you?”

She looked to him. “I work with them, but I’m not a part of his crew. They’ve been saving Pokemon for years, now. Bringing them to zoos and reservations. I’ve been sponsoring them for a while, now. I trust these guys with everything they’ve done!”

“Well, they’re not who they claim to be!” Gary insisted. “I may not be able to legally attack them, or have the proof to stop them, but they admitted to me they’re nothing but liars and crooks! They abuse Pokemon and-!”

“The longer we stay here listening to the lies of a silly, confused child who attacked me, the more these Finneon and Lumineon suffer in this miniature tank!” Moscow yelled. “You know as well as I do that this is not sufficient space for them, April! Can I please get these guys to their new home before it’s too late??”

Gary’s eyes shot to the woman, his heart stopping.

April turned to Moscow. Her mouth was hanging open. “I...” She turned to the Pokemon in the tank struggling against each other, the tank inside the submarine but visible through the opening it returned to.

“They should already be in Cerulean City’s aquarium. They suffer the more these criminals steal our time.”

“I haven’t stolen anything!” Gary argued with Moscow. “Those Pokemon were in the ocean just fine! YOU attacked them! You stole them from their home! Their suffering is only your fault!” He turned to the woman. “Is your name April?? Are you the Gym Leader?”

She looked at Gary and nodded. “Yes. I’m the Gym Leader of River Beach, which is here.”

“This is it!” Gary shook his head. We can talk about this later, he reminded himself. “You’re a protector of Pokemon as a Pokemon Trainer. You have to listen to me. These guys are nothing but poachers! All they-!”

CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK!!!!

April, June, and Gary jumped at the loud noise and saw Moscow holding his gun in the air, having just fired it. He lowered it and sneered at them all. “April, I’m going on my way before these poor, innocent Pokemon end up dead! I don’t expect you to stop me. As a Gym Leader who covets her position, you certainly wouldn’t, now would you?”

Gary’s eyes widened. Did he just threaten her?

April shook her head. “Of course not! Please, go right on ahead!” She looked down and gasped. “Gyarados?”

“Hey! Charizard?” Gary watched with her.

Gyarados and Charizard wore ferocious faces, their eyes locked on the other one. They looked outraged and ready to thrash each other at a word.

Gary rubbed his left arm just to have his body do something and help stop the trembling caused just from looking at the fury they had.

April smiled at Gary. “Looks like Gyarados likes your Charizard.”

“Looks like what??”

At a noise, the three people turned to see Moscow being lowered inside of the machine. There was a loud roar and the vessel began sliding backwards, back into the water.

“April! We have to stop them!” Gary pleaded.

“He’s telling the truth. Those guys are the criminals,” June insisted. “I was previously the Gym Leader in Gringey City before stepping down. I can vouch for what happened here earlier. Their intentions aren’t pure!”

April shook her head as the submarine sunk deeper into the water. “I think there must be some misunderstanding here,” April said in a low voice.

To Gary, April may have sounded uncertain.

“Besides,” she turned to him solemnly, “there’s nothing we can do. Your word,” she turned to June, “and even your word... Against theirs, and me having not seen anything. They are pretty reputable people. They have good people in their corner, and a good history. It’d take a lot to convince those you need to believe you that they were doing the wrong thing.”

June sighed and her head fell.

“So that’s it? They just get away, clear? April I’m not lying!”

April stared at him after his shout. Her eyes closed. “I’m sorry. I just...”

The submarine disappeared into the water noisily.

“FFFFFFAAAAAAHH!” Gary kicked into the sand with rage. “Come on, man!” He kicked at the sand again.

“We’ve only just met. I can’t just take the side of strangers like that. I hope you can understand.”

“I hope you can understand you just let Pokemon poachers get away!” Gary barked.

April opened her mouth, but her shoulders just slumped, her mouth closing back. She took in a deep breath. “Am I to assume you came here to challenge my Gym?”

Gary didn’t speak for a moment.

“Or maybe you’ve changed your mind now,” she smirked. “Am I no longer appealing to you?”

Entirely out of his control, Gary looked her down and up.

From her wet, light blue jeans that could have very well been painted on, down to her white sandals with gold designs, back up to a white button up blouse Gary could clearly see a dark bra through thanks to her being soaked, containing a heavy chest, and up to a very alluring face with thick lips. A smile came through those lips, revealing a big smile with fairly larger than average teeth.

Oh, you’re still very appealing, Miss, Gary thought. His mouth opened, though he wasn’t sure what he was even going to say. A light flashed at his side, but he barely even noticed it. “I... I’m Gary. Aaaaahh!!” Gary hit the ground after an explosive blow to the side of his face.

“Oh, boy...” June muttered.

“Gary??” April cried.

Gary was in a daze, sitting in the sand. He blinked repeatedly, struggling to get the twinkling lights out of his eyes and see clearly.

“Don’t worry.”

Gary saw June roll her eyes nonchalantly.

“They’re just collectively maintaining a little focus on the task at hand.” June snickered to herself.

April looked confused and eyed Gary. “Is this why you look so beat up? A disobedient Pokemon? I didn’t want to say anything but you look a bit rough, even for a Pokemon Trainer.”

Gary’s heart hammered with embarrassment and he forced a smile. “Not disobedient. We’re...” He turned to Tyrogue, who had a stern look on his face, his hands raised as if ready to strike. “We’re just... searching new methods of channeling his affection...”

“Oh, that’s sweet! I understand that. Pokemon all have their own unique ways to show their love for their Trainer. Things will get better once you both are willing to give and take.”

“Give and take? What do you mean?”

“I just mean, all types of Pokemon have their own expressions, often based on type. So, a Fire type may affectionately burn their Trainer. A Water type may leave their Trainer drenched out of love.” She pointed at Gary. “A Fighting type may give you a knuckle sandwich. This may irritate the Trainer, and it may be very hard to keep the Pokemon from expressing themselves as they naturally feel comfortable. Just like some people are huggers, or some hate giving handshakes. It’s the same thing. I can see the trust between you two, but I believe that once you two come a little further down your life mission together, you’ll find a mutually agreed upon show of your bond. Something that allows natural personality and behavior to come out, without disrupting the order of... like... the order of how the world works, so to speak, you know? You can be yourself without causing a scene. The world can keep spinning, as they say, and you can remain balanced on top of it without losing yourself. You’re just you, being you, and he dances to your own beat, but at his rhythm!” April laughed, and Gary smiled in reaction to this, to not make things awkward. “I know I’m not making much sense, but I hope you somewhat got where I’m going.”

Gary nodded, but his head was throbbing and he closed his eyes, his smile disappearing. “I do get it. I hope it all works out, too...”

“Well, for now, why don’t we call these two back. I’ll accept your actual challenge tomorrow. How about a two-on-two, starting off with Charizard and Gyarados?”

Gary’s eyes popped open. “You want to start off the match with those two?”

April shrugged. “Only if you want to. They have a spark between them. I’d love to see how it pans out, don’t you?”

Gary eyed the Pokemon, practically feeling the heated rivalry, almost blown back by the raging passion and energy between them, looking ready to pounce each other. A determined smile came over his face as he became motivated.

“Anyway, I think we’re about to have our hands full, or else I might battle you right now.”

Charizard snarled out.

Gyarados let out a louder retort.

“Hands full?” Gary didn’t understand, staring to April.

“So are the police really coming?” June was looking out through the extended sands.

Sirens were heard, and April, Gary, and Tyrogue looked to see distant beings from afar, flashing lights on top of them.

“Yeah,” April answered.