Perspective Shift: Silver(2)

You push your way quickly through the throng of people in the Gym’s lobby, keeping your eyes forward and not acknowledging any of them. Fans who want autographs or pictures, reporters who want an interview, random people who just want to congratulate you, you ignore them all. You aren’t doing this for fame, and you aren’t comfortable with all of this attention. Why don’t people get that already, this is the eleventh time you’ve won a badge! You’ve never responded well to this stuff, but it only gets worse with every badge you win! It’s suffocating!

“Ms. Silver, a word please!” “Silver, can you spare a moment?” “I’m your biggest fan!” “Please, can you sign this?” “Fucking peg me!” “Silver, wait!” “Just a quick remark?” “Congratulations on the win!”

‘Just keep moving. Almost out.’ Your jaw clenches as you continue shoving past people, moving towards the exit as quickly as you can. You know you must seem like an asshole, but you just want to be left alone. Why does everyone have to care so much about powerful trainers? All you want is to become as skilled of a trainer as you can, this celebrity shit is annoying. Interview requests, sponsorship offers, modeling gigs, fan groups… None of that shit is for you. More power to the people who enjoy it, but this is not why you battle.

It’s an entirely different kind of battle in an of itself to avoid these fucking people. Some of them are aggressive in their attempts to get your attention. They stand in your way, reach out and grab your limbs or coat, one accidentally pulls your hair - at least it had better have been a fucking accident - and someone goes as far as to cling to your leg. It’s a struggle to pull out of everyone’s grips and push past them, and you’re pretty sure someone cops a feel under your coat as you do, but eventually your efforts pay off.

You exit the Gym, breaking free of the mass of humanity inside and rushing to surround yourself with the mass of humanity outside. You make your way into the throng of people walking the busy streets, losing the fans and paparazzi in the crowd. Breathing a small sigh of relief, you begin to walk in the direction that you’re reasonably sure will lead you back to the Pokécenter. Probably.

As you travel through the crowded thoroughfare, you take in the sights of the city around you. Massive skyscrapers tower over you while street-side shops and cafes surround you on all sides. No vehicles pass through this part of the city, it’s too crowded with people. The smells of densely packed population - sweat, tobacco, cologne, perfume, ****, sex - all mingle with scents of freshly baked goods and various different types of cuisines. People of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and walks of life bustle through the streets. You see a woman being carried on the shoulders of some giant man, a pair of men flirting with each other over a meal, a mother and father with three young children rushing into a movie theater, a female trainer sulking as an older man drags her by the hand off to who knows where, probably to claim a forfeit. Arcades, clothing stores, knick-knack shops, sex toy shops, bars, restaurants, general stores, brothels, **** stores, book stores… Every kind of service you can imagine and more is available here. This city is a major tourist spot, one of the most popular places in Kanto for people to visit, local or otherwise. Foreigners come in via train from Johto, and via Fly or Teleport services from other regions. Large hotels and office buildings can be seen everywhere in this city, but dominating them all is the headquarters of the famous Silph Co.

One of the biggest commercial centers of the Kanto region; Saffron City.

You had traveled north from Vermillion City the day after winning your Thunder Badge from that blonde bombshell of a Lieutenant, arriving here in Saffron after a day. Then you challenged the Saffron Gym today… the third day since your arrival. You had spent the first two days wandering around the city looking for the Gym, which was not fun. You actually didn’t even make it back to the Pokécenter after your first day of searching; you couldn’t find it again, so you just slept in a park. The second day you had found what you thought was the Gym, but it turned out to just be a fighting dojo, which apparently had been the Gym until Sabrina overthrew the leader there and had her own built. That had been a bust, though at least you had made it back to the Pokécenter that night. Then today, finally, you actually found the Gym and challenged its leader. The psychic specialist had been a decent challenge, even with Weavile and Gengar by your side, but she had been an even better fuck. Stunningly beautiful and extremely willing to submit, she may have been your all time favorite forfeit that you’ve ever claimed. You wouldn’t mind battling her again, if the opportunity ever arises.

You’re fairly tired after the forfeit you just claimed from her though, so these horny thoughts should probably stop. You aren’t sure if you have the energy to deal with them right now, with how long and intense your fucking of Sabrina had just been. Doing your best to shake the naughty thoughts out of your head, you keep walking through the packed metropolitan area until you come to a crossroads. Not like, figuratively, a literal crossroads. Now, which way to the Pokécenter again…? Southwest, but… which way is southwest?

As you stand there in contemplation, staring out at the junction and the sea of people streaming through it, something catches your attention. You barely spot it out of the corner of your eye but, when you do, you feel like time just slows down. Your heartbeat picks up in opposition to the feeling of slowed time, and your mouth suddenly feels dry. What you’re looking at, or who rather, is a man in the crowd, unfamiliar to you, walking through the crossroads and heading in a direction that you’re pretty sure is east. He is incredibly attractive, with a mix of rugged handsomeness and pretty-boy appeal to his looks. His hair is a thick ash-blonde mop that goes down to his shoulders, and his eyes are a pale red. It’s not his looks that grab your attention however; it’s the necklace that he’s wearing. A polished steel ring with a large R in the center of it, hanging from a thin chain around his neck.

That R… it isn’t red, it’s a silvery gray, but it can’t be a coincidence. Not a chance in hell. He has to be one of them.

All at once, time returns to its normal flow, and your legs move with purpose. Your eyes stay locked onto the man, keeping track of his long brown coat in the throng of people as you move towards him. You have to catch up to him, to see if he is one of them, and to get information out of him if he is. This is your first potential lead on her in months, there’s no way you can let it slip through your fingers. Resting at the Pokécenter and taking another selfie for Red can wait. This is too important to risk ignoring.

Speeding up as you push through the crowd, not caring how many people you bump or shove, you slowly close the distance between you and the man. He doesn’t seem to have noticed you, and simply keeps walking at a casual pace through the bustling streets of Saffron City. Your heart continues to beat harder and harder, and your breath is coming quicker with each passing moment. The blonde man turns a corner ahead of you, and you rush to catch up. You want to just start full on sprinting, but that may cause a scene and catch his attention. Rounding the corner, you swiftly scan the mass of people, looking for your quarry. Thankfully you are able to spot him again, still strolling calmly down the sidewalk, now walking alongside a road with cars packed together, barely moving in a traffic jam. Shit, if he hops in a car or something, you’ll lose him for sure!

The red-eyed man does no such thing, however, he keeps on moving on foot. Your hurried pace and lack of concern for those you brush past means that you’re close to being able to grab him and… Do what exactly? Do what in the middle of this packed walkway? Whatever, you’ll cross that bridge when you come to it. You push onward, determined to get something out of this man, if he is what you suspect. You’re only ten feet behind him at this point, and your head is starting to spin as you wonder what the hell you do from here.

Suddenly, the brown-coated man turns right, moving off of the main sidewalk and into an alley. He briefly vanishes from your view, and you run forward in a panic. In the few seconds it takes you to get to the entrance of the alleyway, you almost lose track of your target. You just barely see him round another corner down the alley, and you quickly follow after him. The narrow corridor between buildings isn’t nearly as clean as the rest of the city, with discarded trash and questionable stains everywhere you look. Ignoring the filth you step in, you reach the corner he turned, and don’t even fully see him when you look down the next alley this time. You just see the hem of his coat vanish as he turns yet another corner, and you sprint to catch up, too **** to care about being noticed at this point. There’s no one else in the alley, so it’s not like you’re making a huge scene, but the ash-haired man can definitely hear your footsteps following him at this point. As you turn the same corner he just did, your heart sinks. He’s gone. You don’t see him anywhere! Fuck! He must have realized that you were tailing him and sped up! There are several other alleyways he could have gone down from here, so there’s no way to catch him now. He got away.

As you clench your fist and seethe in frustration, a deep voice comes from directly behind you. “Why are you following me?”

Your entire body tenses in shock, and your rapidly-beating heart stops for a moment. Gulping, you turn your head and look back, stunned to see who is behind you. The ashy-blonde with the brown coat and the R necklace is right there. How did he get behind you!? There’s no way you could have missed him or something, right!?

Staring down at you sternly, the handsome man repeats his question more forcefully. “Why are you following me? Answer.” He has an intimidating presence, and you can’t help but flinch at his words.

You take a moment to steady your breathing, then turn around completely to face the red-eyed man. Looking at him now, you notice something that you had missed when tailing him through the throngs of people in the streets; he’s carrying a small metal briefcase in one hand, with a combination lock on it. What’s that? Doesn’t matter right now! Focus!

Bringing your attention back to him and looking up into his suspicion filled eyes, you answer just as he opens his mouth to speak again. “I really need to talk to you!” You blurt out, much more loudly than you’d intended.

The blonde man regards you cautiously before responding. “I don’t know you, and I’m in a hurry right now. What is it that you want to talk to me about, and why?” Oddly enough, there is no impatience in his voice, only careful curiosity. He doesn’t seem angry, he’s just wondering why you chased him down.

You struggle for a moment to try and figure out how to answer without causing him alarm or angering him, but can’t really think of a way. Talking isn’t your strong suit, so you decide to just be honest. “I need information on Team Rocket. And you… well, that necklace…”

The brown-coated man raises an eyebrow. “What about my necklace?” He brings a hand up to lift it slightly, glancing down at it.

“Well, the letter R…”

The man scoffs, then shakes his head in disbelief. “So, because I wear a necklace with the letter R on it, you think that I’m a member of Team Rocket? What if I’m just wearing it because my name starts with the letter R? Perhaps my name is Randolph?” A half-grin crosses the man’s lips as he looks down at you, bemused.

Ignoring his words, you press on. “Please, I really need information on Team Rocket! I’ll… I’ll do anything, so…” You look up at him pleadingly, a rare expression for your face to show.

The humor leaves the red-eyed man’s face, and a sharpness fills his eyes. “You really haven’t thought this through, have you? If I was a member of Team Rocket… Why would I tell you anything?”

“Huh? Well…” Shit, he’s got you there. You hadn’t really thought about how you would get the information from him, or why he would agree to tell you anything. You haven’t had time to think about that, this happened so fast. You just knew you had to take this opportunity, had to take this chance to get a lead on her.

“And another thing…” The ash-haired man leans down, bringing his face close to yours and glaring at you. You hold your ground, looking up at him as he speaks, his voice menacing. “If I was a member of an infamous criminal organization, would it really be a good idea to chase me down in the streets, follow me into an alley, and demand information from me? I’d probably be a very dangerous person, wouldn’t I? Someone who might hurt you, or worse. So why take such a risk? Why is this so important?”

The sound of your pounding heartbeat echoes through your head, and a small needle of fear pierces your mind. He isn’t wrong. Team Rocket is very dangerous, you know that. Approaching him like this could very well be the worst mistake you’ve ever made. Maybe life as you know it is already over, and you’re about to be kidnapped and never seen again. Or killed. But this is the kind of chance you have to take if you’re ever going to learn more about her. And maybe you’re just naive, but something about this man makes you think you’re not in any real danger of anything terrible happening. He just… doesn’t seem the type. He could’ve disappeared into the shadows after you lost him, or attacked you from behind earlier. But he didn’t. He came to talk to you, almost like he wanted to warn you.

Rocket or not, he doesn’t seem like an awful person. So you’re going to do what you did before and hope it works out better; be honest. “I’m looking for a woman. A middle-aged woman, with hair like mine. I’m almost certain that she’s a member of Team Rocket. Please, do you know anything? I’m not planning on going to the police or something, I just want to find her. I need to!”

Your earnest begging, far different from your normal monotone voice, seems to get to the man. That, and the cherry-red hair on your head that you just pointed out does grab his attention. He leans back, looking you up and down, then exhales softly. “That hair… It certainly does look familiar…”

Heart leaping, you reach forward and grab the blonde by the shoulders. “So you do know something! Who is she? Where is she? Please, tell me anything you can!” Your grip is probably slightly tighter than it should be, but you can’t help it. You’ve been searching for six months, since you started your journey, and you keep winding up empty-handed. This is the first spark of hope you’ve had and you can’t lose it!

The red-eyed man stares at you with a complicated expression, clearly feeling conflicted on this matter. Like he wants to tell you, but doesn’t think it’s a good idea. He clicks his tongue thoughtfully, staring into your eyes. You stare back, just waiting for him to speak, to tell you anything, to give you even a scrap of information. The two of you stand in silence for what feels like hours, but is only a few minutes, as he thinks to himself. Once he comes to a decision, he introduces himself. “My name is Leon… but I am also known as Agent Blade… among Team Rocket.”

So he is one of them! “I won’t tell the police or anything, I swear! I-“

The ashy-blonde cuts you off. “I know you won’t. I can see it in your eyes.” A gentle look crosses his face, and he places a hand on one of yours that’s gripping his shoulder. “I also know who it is you are looking for… And I can guess as to why you are looking for her… What is your name, miss?”

“Silver.”

“Well, Silver, why don’t you explain to me what it is you want to know, and why.” Leon says, gazing into your eyes sympathetically.

You nod, taking a deep breath as you prepare to explain.