‘Saffron is not safe.’

Eloise’s words echoed in David’s mind as he walked out of the complex. He couldn’t refute them. Within seconds of waking up in an alleyway he’d nearly been eaten by a Grimer. Even considering all the help he had received between then and his encounter with Team Rocket, this city was hostile.

Maybe Eloise was right and it was a madness that had settled into the city. A corrupting influence spread from the gym leader, a position which seemed to have more to it than battling teenagers and handing out badges.

His memories about Sabrina were spotty. He remembered that the psychic gym was difficult in the games and Eloise’s story had stirred a vague recollection of her character being messed up and dangerous on the tv show. But this world was not the video game or the show. He wasn’t Ash and he didn’t have the option to press pause, save and quit the game.

“David!”

He stopped and waited for Fred to catch up to him.

“Heya Fred. I’m sorry about today. I shouldn’t have said anything to you.”

David wasn’t sure if it’d been a mistake to come to the dojo too. He hadn’t been able to dissuade Fred. The dojo masters seemed to be taking his warning a bit more seriously than the police, but they weren’t going to do anything about Team Rocket itself. He had learned a lot about Saffron from Eloise and Fred but that story had gotten very personal towards the end.

“No,” Fred said, shaking his head. “My mom is wrong. So are the masters. They-”

“Fred.” David interrupted. He couldn’t gather the energy to be polite about this. “Listen to them. Team Rocket are dangerous. More than you know.”

For a second David was tempted. He could explain everything to Fred. Starting with the alley. If he left out the fictional world part and focused on his knowledge about the world.. It could work. Fred might believe him.

But what good would that do? Fred couldn’t help him. He barely had more power than David.

“I know.” Fred’s shoulders fell.

David blinked at him in surprise. That had worked?

Fred frowned back. “I do listen. And I’m not saying that mom and the masters don’t have good reasons. But.. they’re wrong anyway. They can’t think clearly about this. I’m going to follow their rules but I’ll be training. Some day. Someday I will fix this.”

Fred met David’s eyes and he could see a flicker of color in them.

“I’ll do it as that’s the kind of Trainer I want to be.”

Then Fred blinked and the flicker was gone.

“What about you?” Fred asked. “What are you going to do now?”

David’s hands moved to the straps on his bag.

“I think I need to leave Saffron.” He said and as he spoke he knew that he had decided.

And go where? He didn’t know but staying in the city was too risky. There might not be an issue with the psychic gym but why take the chance? There were another six gyms out there that weren’t associated with Team Rocket. Six gyms and cities where he could train and battle without the need to look over his shoulder.

Fred inhaled deeply. His smile dropped but he nodded in acceptance.

“I guess this is goodbye then,” Fred said and held out his fist out. “Keep fighting. Machop and I will be waiting for our rematch.”

David returned the fist bump.

“I’ll see you then.”

 

-.-

 

To David’s relief, the overly muscular librarian let him in with only a brief look at his trainer license. Now that David thought about it, the quiet man was likely a dojo member. You couldn’t grow that strong lifting leaflets and pamphlets. 

It had been nearly a week since he was last here. He had intended to come more often but life conspired against it. Something always seemed to come up whenever he was meant to visit.

Unfortunately the single shelf he had access to hadn’t changed in his time away. The selection of useful material was still scarce. David’s eyes were drawn to ‘Common 11 - A primer’ on the top shelf. All of the 'trainer tip' leaflets were tucked in his backpack but he hadn’t finished reading the primer the last time he was here.

David pulled his attention away to a ratty map further along the row. He’d likely be able to find more information on the ‘Common 11’ in any city. Which city was the more important decision now.

Fully unfolded, the ‘Kanto - A Journey’ map took up a lot of space. Far more space than he remembered from the games.

David had expected Kanto to be bigger than in the games, the size of the Route maps had already shown him that, but the scale of the region was something else. It would take days of travel to get from Saffron to anywhere else. And Saffron was in the most populated section of Kanto with four major settlements in close proximity.

Four locations that he knew nothing about to choose between. Thankfully the map had a guidebook section which covered the major cities on the back.

To the north was Cerulean city, the home of the Electric gym. The map described it as a waterways city and waxed poetically about all the water wheels and power generated from a series of dams.

To the south was Vermillion city, the home of the Water gym. It was the international port city of Kanto, a bustling center of trade and fishing. David wondered if it was where the tournament competitor, Sailor Huey, was based. The Sailor could have picked up his Azumarill while transporting goods between Kanto and Johto.

To the west was Celadon city, the home of the Grass gym. Called the rainbow city, it was the bread basket of Kanto. Fertile plains surrounded the settlement and it hosted the largest population of people in Kanto.

To the east was Lavender town. It wasn’t home to any gyms but it held a special prominence in the hearts of all Kantoans. Lavender town was the most eastern settlement and contained the region’s graveyard. At the end of its brief description was a short phrase. “No matter where you’re born, All goes east in the end.”

The section on Saffron was mostly information he already knew. As the city with the highest population density, it was lauded as a center for innovation. The dojo and psychic gym were covered in paragraphs detailing the rich history of the city. The description of the city as a shining example of unity in Kanto nearly caused him to choke. If he hadn’t been worried about the librarian he would have burst into pained laughter.

David eliminated Lavender town quickly. Catching a Gastly sounded fantastic but the leaflets he’d read pointed to Ghosts being.. difficult. He wasn’t sure what to think of the type. Were they actual ghosts or creatures with a strange biology? If they were actual ghosts it brought up a list of questions he didn’t have time for right now. If they weren’t , he still had a list of questions he didn’t have time for. But the main reason he eliminated it was the town's lack of a gym. He had a deadline to meet.

Cerulean city was eliminated soon after. Pidgey was a Flying type. Electric type was twice as effective against her. It was an easy choice to avoid. He also couldn’t help but feel like something was off with the description of this city. It didn’t seem right.

That narrowed his choice down to two. Vermillion city and the water gym or Celadon city and the grass gym.

In terms of gyms, Celadon would be the easier choice. Flying beat grass type. But the same reason could be in favor of avoiding the city. The badges would likely get tougher with each challenge in some approximation of the games. Should he save the ‘easy’ win for later?

Both cities would help him escape from Team Rocket. Celadon had the largest population in Kanto. It would be easy to hide. Vermillion was a port city. It was likely that large numbers of people entered and exited the city each day. The locals wouldn’t be on the look out for strangers.

For future badges, neither was great. A large bridge connected Celadon to Fuchsia city but it didn’t look like it was a walking bridge. It was too long a distance to attempt to hike with nowhere to stop over on the way. Vermillion to Fuchsia city was an even longer route and it was a fair distance away from Lavender town too. He would need to pass through Saffron again with either choice if he didn’t want to waste days traveling.

David turned the map over and read the descriptions again. He tried to calculate the distance between each city. He racked his brains for any extra bits of information.

In the end he gave up. There was no perfect choice.

His finger settled on Celadon city. It might make his life tougher in the future but.. he hadn’t won a battle yet. Once he was established he could catch more Pokemon and gain other type advantages. Right now he needed to get two badges quickly. ‘A bird in hand is worth two in the bush’ and all.

David set the map back on the shelf. Route 7 was the way to Celadon. He knew where to start.

The provisions he bought that morning would see him to Celadon. There was only one thing left to do in Saffron.

Say goodbye.

 

-.-

 

David’s fears grew as he walked through the empty market. Most sellers had already packed up for the day and the few remaining were clearing up. The clouds in the sky had darkened and the usual market hours were over.

“Fuck.” David cursed and increased his pace.

He could leave Saffron without saying goodbye to Benny but it didn’t feel right. Benny had helped him over the last week. Yes, the stall owner was profiting from selling the berries, but he gave David the best price in the market. That Poke allowed David to feed Pidgey and stay afloat. Benny had even offered him shelter from Team Rocket.

David winced. He couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. If he disappeared on Benny after telling him about Team Rocket.. Benny might think the worst and get himself involved.

His hopes were dashed as the empty table came into view. Benny had packed up.

Still, his steps carried him forward just in case. Maybe he could leave a note.

“What brings you back here?” Benny grumbled from his seat at the back of the stall. The foldable chair was the only thing left in the stall alongside the man. Everything else packed away wherever the stall owner usually put it.

“You’re still here,” David said with relief.

“Decided to wait out the rain,” Benny said, crossing his arms as if daring him to comment. “Perry is impossible when his coat gets wet.”

“Perry?” David questioned.

“My Persian.” Benny glared back.

David glanced around nervously but saw no sign of the Pokemon. Which was for the best. He wasn’t sure he wanted to get close and personal to a Pokemon like the monster from the tournament match.

“I’m leaving,” David said as he looked back at Benny. “I got a warning about the gym and what we talked about earlier so I’m heading to Celadon.”

Benny’s face darkened as he caught on. The elderly stall owner and Saffron native turned and spat to the side. “And I thought things were getting better.”

“I wanted to say goodbye and thanks again,” David said and held out his hand.

Benny pushed himself up and shook his hand.

“Celadon you say?” Benny asked as he chewed on his lip. “My missus has some family out that way.”

Benny seemed to be contemplating spitting on the floor again.

“Got a pen and paper?”

David unpacked part of his backpack onto the table to get out his notebook. This left him open to some pointed comments and heckling from Benny about his gear.

When passed the pen, Benny scratched out a barely legible name and a much more legible address.

“They grow berries and will know where you can sell any you can find.” Benny passed the notebook back. “You’ll need to be more careful there though. Wild Pokemon have learned from the farms to be protective of berries.”

They talked a little more about the area until Benny ushered him away with a call of “Good Luck!” as the first drops of rain started to fall.

 

-.-

 

The door opened with a tinkle and David took off his hat to shake it out before closing the door behind him. The wide brimmed hat had done quite well to shelter him as the rain turned into a downpour when he reached the Pokecenter and central crossroads of Saffron. He was slightly damp rather than soaked.

“Can I help you?” Beth called as David walked further into the room.

“Hi Beth.” David greeted her as he unwrapped his scarf. The scarf luckily had the same waterproof coating as his hat. It seemed most of the clothes in this world were designed with the outdoors in mind.

“David?” Beth asked, bemused by his new outfit.

David looked around the office. It was empty but he’d cut into Beth’s personal time on his last visit. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

Beth shook her head. “No one wants an appointment this late in the day. I’ll be closing the office soon. Can I help you with anything?”

David shook his head too. “I’m leaving Saffron and I wanted to say goodbye and thanks.”

He’d decided on the way not to tell her anything about Team Rocket. The results from telling Fred and Benny had been mixed. Sharing had made him feel better but he’d put Fred into danger. As someone who worked with Pokemon and the league, Beth was likely enough of a target already.

“Oh?” Beth asked, looking taken aback. “You aren’t going to challenge the Psychic gym?”

David hesitated. He couldn’t reveal the warnings he had received without going into the whole story.

“I’m going to Celadon. Pidgey and I are just learning how to battle so I’m hoping we’ll have more luck there.”

Beth stiffened. “Celadon. Of course. Flying and Grass types.”

“Yeah," David said sheepishly. "Well I wanted to come by and say thanks. Your help was invaluable.”

“Invaluable.” Beth repeated absently. “You’ll be able to go to the league offices in Celadon.”

“That’s good to know.” David replied, not missing her flinch as he did. Maybe he’d been wrong to come. Whatever he’d done to upset her last time hadn’t passed.

“Well, thanks again,” David said and got up to make a quick retreat.

Beth murmured a goodbye to him as she made her way towards Fuzzy’s nest.

 

-.-

 

The rain slowed to a drizzle as David left the office.

It lessened again as he reached the ‘See you in the future’ Abra sign marking the ends of the city boundaries. He stopped for a moment to watch a rainbow shining above the city in the evening light.

For all the nice moments and people he had met in the city, he was glad to be leaving it behind. Heading to Celadon felt like the first concrete step he‘d made in a while to growing stronger. Earning a badge itself was only a small step towards his goals but it was a start.

David released Pidgey and with her in his arms, he set out on Route 7.

 

-.-

 

Dinner was a quick affair. He’d camped off the Route path in a quiet clearing when dark fell. Pidgey hadn’t been enthused about the one Leppa berry they’d found but she snatched it up when he brought out her other option, the Aspear berry.

They went to bed early, both tired.

 

-.-

 

David bolted awake as he heard the grinding rasp of the tent’s zipper. He was barely able to turn and face the bright flashlight when a man gave the order.

“Sleep powder.”