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Pokémon:

Quest of a True Master

Chapter 8

The next morning started out differently for Mark. He woke up and prepared to go for his jog as usual, preparing to let out his Pokémon for the run until he remembered all of them were still healing at the Center. The battle with Blue had taken quite a lot out of them, and they very much needed some healing and a long rest, although Mark could probably go pick them up by this time, but this time he wanted to let them rest. Considering he was about to go and challenge the most famous trainer in all of Kanto, they would need it.

For the first time since he didn't remember when, he went for a jog all by himself, sprinting through the streets in the cool, dimly lit morning. He passed the center on his way out, keeping note of its location as he turned a corner, intent on stopping by on his way back to the motel to pick up his Pokémon, as he planned for his battle with Red.

His thoughts, however, continued to drift back to his battle against Blue the day before; how had he done so terribly? There was little doubt in his mind that Blue was an excellent trainer, but Mark had battled countless other trainers before and the last one to give him such a close match, besides Randy, was the champion that had come before himself -the one he had claimed the title from, Steven. Before Randy, that was the biggest challenge of his life... until he'd fought Blue.

Mark had nearly lost, because he'd underestimated Blue. Even now, Mark wondered if the only reason he'd even won that battle was because the sight of his Charmeleon had distracted Blue somewhat, and that Tanker being able to Mega Evolve just as Vitesse could had caught him off guard, making him second-guess himself. Could that victory have been sheer luck? Or was Mark's success as a Pokémon Trainer due only to the Mega Stones in his possession?

Once more, he pushed those thoughts from his mind; maybe he'd overthought how to take on Blue. He'd do something simpler for when he battled Red; a simple plan was always best after all... now he just needed to think of one.

Wait a minute; what was he doing? Planning ahead against Blue hadn't worked; how would planning for a trainer even more skilled than him help? Especially since Mark had no idea what Pokémon Red would have with him; Mark always had the same size, and when picking between them it was a matter of deciding between an opening Defense or Speed, as he'd learned opening with a pure attacker was often not a good idea, and...

CRONG!!!

_ _ "OW-WHA!" Mark barked as his head seemed to explode with pain, making stars flash before his eyes. He grabbed his head with both hands, rubbing where it hurt, and blinking away the stars before he turned to see what he had hit.

A lamppost.

"How the hell did I manage to do that?" He asked.

Oh wait, he knew; he was distracted. But why? He'd beaten Blue so why did his thoughts keep dragging him back to that battle? This had actually been going on all night, not just that morning, and even now when he was out for his daily run he still couldn't escape it; it made no sense to him... what was it that had him so distracted?

"Maybe I should skip the rest of the jog... I need some food," he said, turning back the way he came instead of doing a lap of the block as he intended, and headed back to the Pokémon Center.

Randy looked up from his bacon and eggs as he heard the door to the Cafe open, taking only a brief glance at first, but looking again when he saw Mark walking in, dressed in his jogging clothes. Mark crossed the Cafe until he spotted Randy, and made a beeline to his table, seating himself across from him and looking at a menu.

"Dude, what did you do to your head?" Randy asked, poking Mark in the forehead where an impression of the lamp post he'd hit still lingered.

"Nothing," Mark lied, not wanting to tell Randy the embarrassing truth. "So... can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you think I was at all... I don't know, off my game when I battled Blue yesterday?" Mark asked.

Randy shrugged in response. "Maybe a little, but we all have off days sometimes. Why?"

"I don't know; I just keep going back to that whole battle and I feel like something was way off," said Mark. "I can't understand why, but it feels like I wasn't operating on all cylinders in that battle."

"Yet you still managed to beat one of the top Pokémon trainers on this continent," Randy stated. "Remind me not to have a rematch with you on your good days," he added in jest.

"Randy, I'm serious; something just feels off," returned Mark. "Worst of all I feel like I wouldn't know the answer if it came and kicked me in the forehead."

"Is that what that bump's from?" Randy jested again.

"Bite me," Mark retorted, though he silently admitted he'd set himself up for that one... "Anyway, that battle was one-sided at first; it wasn't until Blue saw my Charmeleon that I turned things around."

"Which I noticed too; I was there," reminded Randy.

"Will you shut up for a moment and let me finish?" Mark said, scowling. "I'm saying, I think that win was dumb luck. I threw off Blue's A-game because Coal reminded him Red's Charizard and its prior evolutions -a Pokémon he's probably lost several battles to already; I hit a nerve when I called out Coal, else I probably would never have beaten that Alakazam, let alone his Blastoise, which was another gamble."

"Either way it worked out, Mark," Randy reminded, eyeing Mark curiously. "I don't get you. You beat Blue -you've taken down the first trainer among the ones in your bingo book on your new journey, but instead of having your confidence bolstered, it's slipping away from you because you don't think you should've won?" He shrugged. "I'm really not sure where you're going with this, bro."

Mark almost wanted to yell at Randy, but any words he had died in his throat, unable to come up with anything to really say for a moment. "To be honest... now neither do I."

"Maybe it's all in your head, man," Randy suggested. "You're nervous about fighting Red because you know he's super-skilled, but so are you; you used to be the Hoenn Champion just like he used to be the Kanto Champion, but he never officially lost his title like you and I did."

"Do we have to keep reminding ourselves of that?" Mark asked.

"It keeps coming up; run with it."

"Okay... so, you think it might be nerves. What's your solution?"

"Just chill, and go into the next battle fully expecting it to be difficult -even you admitted you battled Blue believing you wouldn't need a Mega Evolution, but he proved that even without one himself his Pokémon, especially that Blastoise of his, can fight with the best of them, which he probably did to compensate for not having a Mega stone for any of his Pokémon."

"That's because they aren't found over here," Mark pointed out. "You can only find Mega Stones in Kalos and some areas of Hoenn; nowhere else has them, at least none that have been discovered yet."

"Exactly, but Blue clearly knew of them; he recognized Vitesse's," said Randy. "You said it yourself, he's an excellent trainer; he's probably been around the block enough times that he can recognize the Mega Stones when he sees them, so he trained his Pokémon to be strong enough even to challenge Mega Evolutions -however rare they are anybody who uses one is often pretty tough. It's tricky, but not impossible."

Mark winced. "You know, hearing that actually makes me afraid of how powerful his Blastoise would be if he did have a Mega Stone."

Randy shuddered. "Let's not imagine things we don't want to happen."

"Agreed."

"So, you think you're ready now?" Randy asked Mark, tilting his head as he eyed him expectantly.

Mark smiled back, his mind a little at ease; that nagging feeling wasn't gone, but he no longer felt so concerned. "I guess we'll find out," he said as the waitress approached. "Let me eat some breakfast, and then we'll head for Pewter to see if Brock knows where to find Red. If we're lucky, maybe we'll even find him there."

"We just might."

After eating hearty and packing up, the two were on their way to the north, riding over the Viridian Forest on the backs of Palm Tree and Skyclaw, heading for Pewter City. The vastness of the forest took some time to pass over just like the first time they'd come, but with the wind in their favor it didn't take as long as it normally might.

Pewter City was in sight within the hour; the tall buildings loomed on the horizon as they approached. From above, the city certainly lived up to its name; many of the buildings were the colour of a pewter mug, making the place look somewhat dull, but the way its buildings were laid out and the cleanliness of its streets -which they saw as they descended down to the Pokémon Center- spoke of a city with disciplined, hard-working citizens dedicated to their community.

Nice place, thought Mark. Could use a little paint though... but considering that Mauville is practically a giant shopping mall with residential suites, I guess it all depends on the taste of the citizens what their homes look like.

_ _ Their Pokémon touched down, and already were earning some looks. Hoenn region Pokémon were clearly not seen here very often and the sight of them surprised a few people. Already many kids were running over for a closer look and barraging the trainers with questions. Skyclaw seemed to shy away from some of the children, but a reassuring pat on the neck from Randy calmed the Salamence, and she let them near, though still kept a wary eye on them.

Palm Tree however, seemed to like the attention, letting them touch his wings and even lowering his head so they could pet him. He didn't even get angry when one of the kids started reaching for the fruit growing from his neck -in fact, he leaned over and let them pick one off, hissing contently as it popped free, no blood, no apparent pain to the Tropius, and the children shared it, liking the taste of the fruit.

"Your Tropius could put lunch wagons out of business, dude," Randy remarked. "He's a petting zoo and a mobile fruit basket all in one."

Mark chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if there's someone out there who has thought of that, but they'd need a lot more than one Tropius," he said, petting Palm Tree's neck. "The fruit takes weeks to grow back and each cluster only has three at a time. Not to mention, the flavor of a Tropius' fruit is entirely dependent on the health of the Tropius itself, so whoever owns them would have to take very good care of them to produce good fruits." He patted Palm Tree's neck. "Ain't that right, boy?"

"_Hyasst!"_Palm Tree hissed back; to Mark, it sounded remarkably close to a 'yes'.

"Sounds like you speak with some experience," a voice spoke from the nearby crowd, catching the ears of the two trainers, as well as the kids around them, who all turned and looked over their shoulders to see a man stepping out of the crowd, approaching them. He was a lean figured man -not scrawny, but not burly either, with deeply tanned skin and dark, spiky brown hair. He wore an orange long-sleeved shirt and olive green cargo jeans with light brown shoes, and his hands were visibly calloused from intensive labor. His eyes were narrow almost like they were closed, but what Mark could see of them, they were black eyes -rare for an eye colour, but they suited him.

"Welcome to Pewter City," the man said to Mark and Randy, offering his hand for a handshake with Mark. "Not often we get visitors all the way from Hoenn."

"Well, I have reasons for being here," returned Mark, graciously accepting the handshake. "So far, I'm liking Kanto; I definitely will visit here again."

"Glad to see you're enjoying your visit," the man said. "So what brings you to Pewter City? Maybe I can help you find what you're looking for."

"Well, can you point us to the Gym?" Mark asked. "We're actually here to speak with Brock, the Gym Leader."

The man gave a wry smile. "You are, are you? Well you don't have to look very far if you're looking for him."

"Why?" Mark asked.

"Because I'm standing right in front of you," the man replied, grinning.

Mark's expression went blank, and he fell silent for a moment or two before he said. "Well... that was convenient," he muttered.

After the crowd dispersed, Mark and Randy recalled Palm Tree and Skyclaw, and left with Brock, wandering the down the street in a slow, casual pace. The three of them stopped for a bottle of soda pop at a store before continuing their walk, discussing Mark and Randy's visit with the Pewter Gym Leader.

"So you're here on a new journey," Brock stated. "You're out to challenge the top trainers of the six regions -you already battled Blue down in Viridian, so you came here looking to battle Red. But what made you think to find him here?"

"The captain of the ship that brought us here," Randy replied. "He told us you're a friend of Red and he comes to visit you sometimes. Figured you might know where to find him or, even hoped he might be here when we arrived."

"You're actually quite in luck; Red called me just yesterday, said he'd be arriving sometime this afternoon at our usual spot," Brock informed. "Although it's not just me he comes here to visit; his mother lives here in Pewter too."

"Oh, his mom's here?" Mark asked. "I guess she moved here after leaving Pallet Town."

Brock glanced at Mark, a hard expression on his face. "So, you heard about what happened; I'm guessing it was Captain Raven who you met?"

"How did you know?" Mark asked.

"Red and I were on the S.S Julia a couple of years back, when it was still making routes to the Orange Islands," replied Brock. "We were going there to track down a lead on a Pokémon Red has been looking for much of his life; didn't find it, though. A disappointment, but got to meet some good people. It was while we were gone that the volcano erupted; Red abandoned his search because he heard about it and rushed back to make sure his mom was okay; the town had been evacuated, and now Pallet's mostly abandoned, but Professor Oak still runs his lab there, and his family still live there too."

Mark thought back for a moment, remembering what Captain Raven had told them prior to him and Randy disembarking the S.S Julia. "Yeah, Raven was telling us about that; he said that Red was still looking for one, which is odd considering he's captured one of every kind in the Kanto Region," the trainer said. "What Pokémon is he looking for anyway?"

Brock smiled. "The big one, my friend; he's searching for Mew."

Mark and Randy's eyes shot wide open and they stared at Brock for a moment, a long silence stretching out between the three, making the sound of wind passing between the houses very audible. After a while, it was Randy who broke the silence by exploding with laughter, making Mark jump at the unexpected fit and turn to look at him.

"Mew? Are you serious; Mew?" Randy asked. "The supposed 'Ancestor of all Pokémon' that can learn every attack ever discovered? Red really needs a different hobby; Mew doesn't exist, or if it did at one point it's long since dead or someone will have found it by now."

Brock actually chucked with Randy for a moment, before he stopped and practically leered at the trainer, though he was still smiling. "Let's just say Red has it on good authority that Mew does exist, and that it's still alive today. He won't rest until he finds it."

"What sort of evidence does he have?" Mark asked.

"Besides probably forged photographs and wild rumors?" Randy asked.

"Shut up, Randy."

"Not my place to say," replied Brock. "Better you be shown when you battle him."

Mark shrugged. "I guess I can only take your word for it."

"Now, follow me," said Brock. "We can go wait for Red together, so you can meet him as soon as he arrives."

"Where are you meeting him?" Mark asked.

"At the Pewter City Museum."

The collection at the Museum was unlike anything Mark had ever seen in his life; they had artifacts, mostly fossils, from all over the world, including entire Moon Stones, meteorites, and even what appeared to be ancient evolution stones. Although perhaps the most interesting pieces of all were their fossil collection; they had fossils of ancient Pokémon, many of which were extinct but were beginning to make a comeback thanks to the wonders of science, such as Tyrantrum, Aerodactyl, Kabutops and Omastarr.

There was even a new exhibit the museum had opened recently; an ancient art exhibit, which the three decided to check out while they were there. Inside were old paintings, sculptures and carvings of various Pokémon, or hieroglyphics telling unknown stories, such as one slab that had letters closely resembling the mysterious Johto Pokémon, 'Unown', which was notorious for coming in shapes that looked identical to modern writing and believed to dwell in a pocket universe adjacent to the known one, though it was only a theory.

Mark was particularly drawn to a painting titled 'The Beast of the Sea'; it was old but remarkably well preserved, and displayed in it a shadowy, bird-like beast with oddly shaped wings and a long, reptilian tail with two spikes, almost giving the tail a trident-like shape. The head of the beast was somewhat weathered and hard to see, but from what Mark could tell it wasn't like any bird he'd ever seen, not even among Bird Pokémon species.

"Like that one, do you?" Brock asked when he saw Mark staring at the painting.

"Yeah... but I don't recognize the creature in it; what is that?" Mark asked.

"It's a painting of the Legendary Pokémon, Lugia," replied Brock. "A beast said to live in the deep oceans of the Johto Region, hiding its powers from the world; rumor has it that Lugia is so powerful a mere beating of its wings can cause raging storms, and because of that it lives where no one can find it, emerging only in times of great need."

"Power enough to cause storms just by beating its wings?" Mark asked. "Damn... that sounds like a real powerhouse. We'd all be in real trouble if the IPCS got their hands on him."

"The IPCS?" Brock asked.

"A group of thugs that call themselves the International Pokémon Crime Syndicate', but all they really do is steal Pokémon from trainers," explained Mark. "They attacked the S.S Julia when Randy and I were sailing here; one of them tried to steal my Charmeleon from me."

"Did you get it back?" Brock asked, visibly concerned.

"Yeah," Mark replied. "Nobody's taking one of my crew, not without a fight, even if I have to take the battle into my own hands -I'll take on a mad Primeape with my bare hands before I'll let some scumbag kidnap Coal, or any of my Pokémon for that matter."

"That's good to hear," said Brock. "What about the robbers; did you stop them?"

"Randy took out most of them," replied Mark, gesturing to his friend, who was wandering around with a bored expression, barely even looking at most of the art. "He saved the passengers and beat most of the hijackers, while I took on their leader and protected the engine room; the leader was a guy named Marvin."

"Never heard of anyone by that name in a gang before," Brock remarked, rubbing his chin in thought. "But they almost sound like Team Rocket."

"With their coordination I almost thought they were Team Aqua or Magma," Mark added. "Maybe a mix of both?"

"Maybe," muttered Brock. He glanced over to Randy, quirking an eyebrow at him as he neared. "You don't really look like you're enjoying the exhibit," he said.

"History's not really my thing," returned Randy. "I say, let the past be past; the real wonders are in the future."

"But the future and present are shaped by history," Mark stated.

Randy looked at Mark oddly. "When were you so academic?"

"Studying history was a hobby of mine before I became a Pokémon trainer, and I kind of got back into it after I lost the Champion title at the League," replied Mark. "I even considered becoming a historian."

"You're a former Champion?" Brock asked.

Mark nodded. "Yep," he replied. "Didn't keep it long however."

"Who'd you lose it to?"

Mark and Randy replied simultaneously. "Him." "Me."

Brock looked at Randy. "So you're the current Hoenn Champion?"

Randy shook his head. "Sadly no, I wasn't able to hold it down either; guy who beat me brought Ho-oh with his team -not even Cairo, Mega Evolved and at full strength, was going to beat that. I got flattened."

"Cairo?" Brock asked.

"My Lucario."

Brock suddenly smiled, and beckoned Randy as he walked to the side, turning towards a door. "Let me show you something you might like," he said.

Randy shrugged, and followed Brock closely, with Mark bringing up the rear, following the two into the next room -a specialty exhibit that was only open for another day displaying one-of-a-kind historical artifacts from the Sinnoh region. They crossed the room to a massive stone tablet hanging on the wall, with a strange looking staff, encased in glass and displayed at the base of the tablet. Engraved on a plaque in the base were the words 'The Staff of Sir Aaron'.

"So, what're we looking at, the staff?" Randy asked.

"The tablet," replied Brock.

Randy elevated his gaze from the staff up to the tablet, studying the picture engraved on the front...

The image in the stone, clearly worn away by the cruelty of time itself but still quite readable, was of a Lucario standing at the side of a cloaked man in a pointed hat, with a vast assortment of what appeared to be Pokémon and Humans alike charging at each other along the base of the stone tablet. Around the man and Lucario was an assortment of flowers that appeared to have a uneven shape like uncut gems, and in the background of the picture engraved in the weathered stone was a gigantic tree.

"Whoa..." Randy breathed.

"This is a treasure of the Sinnoh Region," stated Brock. "'The Gallant Sir Aaron' it's titled; Aaron was a hero in Sinnoh history dating back to long before the region itself even formed into what we know it as today, and it's stated he could see and manipulate Aura much the same way as a Lucario today can -some even believe that it was him who gave all Lucario that very ability, although that's only an unconfirmed theory right now; most dedicated Lucario trainers have even said that it was they who taught Aaron."

"...Okay, I take it back," remarked Randy. "History can be interesting; I eat my words on a sheet of paper if someone has one."

"And what's that humongous tree in the background?" Mark asked.

"The Tree of Life," replied Brock. "It's a landmark in Sinnoh, very difficult to get to, but a beautiful sight to see. This tablet is also the reason that Red is coming today."

"What do Lucario or that tree have to do with Mew?" Mark asked.

"See that shape by the tree, up by the crown?" Brock asked, pointing at the tablet towards a small carving of a short-limbed creature with an extra-long tail, more than double the length of its own body, flying in an arc around the tree. "Historical records state that Mew looked much like that, and even lives in the Tree of Life itself, watching over the land; Red feels this may be another clue for him to follow in his search for Mew. I have little doubt that after he visits this time, he'll be heading to Sinnoh next."

"You know me well, Brock."

Mark and Randy froze at the voice, while Brock only smiled, peering over his shoulder without a second thought. "Speak of the devil," remarked the gym leader.

Slowly, Mark and Randy turned around, peering over their shoulders to see a new figure standing in the doorway. A young man, no older than either of them, roughly the same height as Mark, and appeared equally fit, with the legs of a runny -long, toned and strong, covered by a pair of blue jeans and feet covered by a pair of red and white running shoes. He wore a black, short-sleeve shirt, a red vest and a red cap with a decoration shape Poké Ball stitched into the forehead. He had short brown hair growing out from under his hat, and a young face, with full of life and determination.

The trainer stepped into the room, walking over to Brock and heartily shaking hands with him. "Welcome back, Red," bade Brock.

"Good to be back," Red returned.

Note from the Author:

And now we finally meet the legendary Pokémon Master of Kanto! I decided to keep this a short chapter instead of jumping right into the gist of things; didn't want to make it look like I was rushing it. Much fun as I'm having with the story, I'd like to let it be savored, and I have much planning and a little study to do for the upcoming chapters.

And at the start of this, we see Mark having doubts about his abilities; makes you wonder, what is it he's so concerned with? I base this on a problem I myself have; sometimes, I find myself unable to continue a story because I feel like there is something in it that I didn't do correctly, and can often find by self-proofreading, fixing the problem by revising and editing, allowing me to continue. Until I find the issue, it feels strenuous to continue writing, because no matter what I do if I do not find and fix that problem, the story will be ruined by that one mistaken oversight.

I.E: Since Mark is sort of based on myself, without the talent as a writer -excuse me for sounding pompous, these instincts are instead attuned to himself and his Pokémon, and right now he feels something is wrong, but cannot place it because he can't quite see the problem.

What is the problem he's having? This will be revealed in the next chapter, which I can guarantee to you, my readers, will not go as you may think it will.

I would also like to point out; no doubt many of you dedicated Pokémon fans out there will have noticed the reference I inserted in here to the eighth movie, 'Lucario and the Mystery of Mew'; although this might come up later, I'd like to list some disclaimers. First and foremost is that Ash Ketchum and those relevant to his storyline will not appear in this story; the reference to the movie is strictly plot relevance and character development. I.E: I just borrowed it for that scene just as I did in the mentioning of the Orange Islands. Aaron's Lucario is also not making an appearance here.

Thank you for your continued interest!