The next morning, Red woke with the sun, his internal clock set by years of training. After a quick breakfast, he left the Pewter City Pokémon Center and headed east toward Mt. Moon, the next major landmark on his path to Cerulean City.
Mt. Moon was legendary, famous for its frequent meteor showers and the vast deposits of Moon Stones they left behind. Naturally, this precious resource had attracted miners and merchants, whose reckless excavation had begun to scar the mountain and disturb the native Pokémon, particularly the reclusive Clefairy.
Red didn't make it far before he encountered one such miner, a burly Mountaineer who challenged him to a battle on sight.
"Graveler, use Rollout!" the Mountaineer shouted.
"Charmeleon, Mega Punch!" Red countered.
The two Pokémon clashed head-on, neither willing to give ground. Charmeleon grimaced as its fists ground against Graveler's rocky hide, the friction burning its knuckles. With a furious roar, it shoved the Rock-type back and retreated, its thick tail cracking against the ground in agitation.
"Rock Smash and Iron Tail, simultaneously!" Red commanded.
"Oh no! Graveler, dodge!" the Mountaineer cried in a panic. He knew he was in trouble. His Graveler's high defense was its only advantage, and Charmeleon was now using a combination of moves that were not only super-effective but also had a chance to lower that very defense. It was a nightmare scenario.
Before the dazed Graveler could react, Charmeleon unleashed a torrent of fire, engulfing it in a pillar of flame. To ensure his opponent couldn't escape, he had pinned it down with fire.
"In that case, Graveler, use Double-Edge! Go all out!" the Mountaineer yelled, making a last, desperate gamble.
But Charmeleon met the charge with a flurry of shining claws and a steel-hardened tail. It easily overpowered the battered Graveler, sending it crashing to the ground, defeated.
The Mountaineer reluctantly recalled his Pokémon, looking at Red with a newfound respect. "You're strong, kid. If you're looking for Moon Stones, I can tell you where the real action is."
Following the man's directions, Red arrived at a large cave entrance. The moment he stepped inside, he could hear the rhythmic thump-thump-thump of pickaxes echoing from the depths. The sound, amplified by the cavern walls, was agonizing. A frantic swarm of Zubat flew past him, fleeing their roosts, unable to bear the noise, and forced out into the harsh sunlight.
Inside, the cave was worse. Team Rocket had installed industrial lighting fixtures, bathing the tunnels in a harsh, artificial glare. Dehydrated Sandshrew lay collapsed on the ground, and Paras had strange, pale mushrooms growing from their backs, a sign of a deeply unhealthy environment.
"Blast it! Is there even a single Moon Stone in this wretched hole?!" an arrogant, female voice snarled from the darkness.
"Come out, Scyther," Red said quietly. "Razor Wind."
A blade of pure wind shot into the depths, and two figures scrambled out into the light. They were Team Rocket agents, but not the bumbling duo Red's brother often dealt with.
"It's not Jessie and James? Who are you?" Red asked, though he already knew.
"Since you've asked with such pathetic sincerity!" the woman declared, striking a pose.
"An answer is a courtesy we're not required to give!" the man added.
"To protect our profits from the masses!"
"To extend our influence to the stars!"
"I'm Cassidy!"
"And I'm Butch!"
"When Team Rocket is finished, the world will be ours to command!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
Cassidy and Butch stepped forward, their uniforms torn in several places from Scyther's warning shot. "You annoying brat! What do you want?!" Cassidy demanded.
"Don't lump us in with incompetent fools like Jessie and James!" Butch said with a sneer.
"Of course not," Red replied, his tone laced with sarcasm. "You're here to stop me from ruining the cave's environment. As for the difference between you and them? I don't see one."
"Why, you insolent little—! Go, Primeape!" Butch roared.
"You'll regret that! Go, Raticate!" Cassidy shouted.
The two sent out their Pokémon. Scyther stepped forward, its expression calm as it prepared to face them both.
"A Shiny Scyther! It seems this mission might be a success after all!" Cassidy whispered to her partner. Their original task was a failure, but capturing a rare Pokémon like this would surely earn them a promotion.
"You seem quite confident," Red said, making no move to command his Pokémon. Against second-rate agents like these, Scyther didn't need his help.
The azure warrior lazily rubbed its scythes together, a clear gesture of 'bring it on'.
"Arrogant pest!" Cassidy shrieked, insulted at being looked down upon by a Pokémon.
"Primeape, Fury Swipes! Raticate, Tackle!"
Scyther used Double Team, vanishing into a swirl of illusory clones that surrounded the two attacking Pokémon. Cassidy and Butch were left dumbfounded, unable to track the real one. A flash of azure appeared behind Raticate, and a clean X-Scissor sent it tumbling to the ground.
"Primeape, Karate Chop!" Butch yelled, realizing with dawning horror that this was no ordinary trainer. Scyther met the attack with a glowing Brick Break, effortlessly parrying the blow before overwhelming the Fighting-type with a relentless barrage of Fury Cutters. The injured Primeape collapsed, its eyes swirling.
The last-standing Raticate was dispatched with a single, contemptuous Quick Attack.
"W-we're with Team Rocket! What do you think you're doing?!" Cassidy stammered, falling back on their organization's fearsome reputation. It didn't work. Red simply instructed Scyther to keep an eye on them while he dialed the Pewter City police.
Half an hour later, Officer Jenny was shaking his hand again. "Thank you for your cooperation! It's because of righteous trainers like you that we can apprehend these criminals!" she said, her respect for the ten-year-old boy growing.
"Just doing my part," Red replied calmly. He knew Giovanni would bail them out soon enough. The point wasn't the arrest; it was about forcing his enemy to waste resources.
After helping Officer Jenny dismantle the lighting rigs, Red bid her farewell and headed back into the cave alone. His own goal, after all, was still to find a Moon Stone.
As he ventured deeper, a small Clefairy poked its head out from behind a rock. When it saw him, it waved enthusiastically and beckoned for him to follow. It led him to a hidden grotto, where the entire Clefairy colony was gathered around a massive, glowing rock—the heart of the mountain, the true Moon Stone.
To thank him for driving away Team Rocket, the colony's matriarch, a wise old Clefable, instructed the small Clefairy to present him with a gift. It placed a fragment of the great stone in Red's hand. It was noticeably larger and heavier than any sold on the market, and it pulsed with an energy that was easily twice as potent. A top-grade Moon Stone, freely given.
(A good haul! I didn't expect to get a top-grade Moon Stone!) Red thought, a rare, bright smile spreading across his face.
***********
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