With just a single Flamethrower, Houndoom engulfed both Geodude and Shellder.
The flames swept past, leaving both Pokémon incapacitated, their bodies charred black.
"Impossible… You cheated! Geodude and Shellder are clearly highly resistant to Fire-type moves. How could your single Flamethrower defeat them!?" Chopper refused to believe what he had just seen. He did not recall his Pokémon for a long time. Tetsuya's display had completely overturned everything he thought he knew about Pokémon, which, to be fair, wasn't much…
Tetsuya just let out a cold laugh.
At that moment, Houndoom took a step forward, and every one of the punks took a step back. They shrank away in fear. None of them dared provoke such a ferocious Pokémon.
"Who dares bully our minions!? Are you tired of… eh, living!?" A familiar voice reached Tetsuya's ears.
He did not even need to look to know who it was.
"Just you wait! Our aneki and aniki are here! If you've got the guts, don't run. You'll find out how powerful they are soon enough!" Chopper shouted at Tetsuya.
Tetsuya did not respond.
The two people approaching them rode toward him, one on a unicycle and the other on a small-wheeled bicycle. They brandished long whips in their hands, showing off with an "imposing" aura.
It was Jessie and… James.
Although Tetsuya had always known the two of them were destined to meet, they had somehow ended up together in such a muddle. He truly had to admire how thoughtless the two of them were. Even later, in the TRio, the one who served as the "strategist" would actually be Meowth.
Jessie and James walked over. Chopper, Tyra, and several minions all gathered around them, while Tetsuya stood at the back without saying a word.
"Big Jess¹[1], Boss James, it's that guy back there who bullied us. You have to avenge us!" Chopper and Tyra said in unison.
"Don't worry. Anyone who dares bully my minions will soon find out how powerful Cacturne is, hmph!" James said "arrogantly". He truly was much happier living like this than he had been with his family.
"Don't worry. I'll let him experience the power of my fists!" Jessie said, having finally found a place where she could put her "talents" to use.
""It's him!""
With that, all the minions stepped aside, clearing a path and pointing Tetsuya out in front of Jessie and James.
The moment Jessie and James saw that it was Tetsuya, both were filled with surprise and shouted in unison, ""T-Tetsuya!?""
After simultaneously calling out the name "Tetsuya," Jessie and James looked at each other and both asked, ""You know Tetsuya too!?""
"Of course. Tetsuya was the one who gave me this Cacturne," James said.
"And he also promised to help me meet Giovanni-sama!" Jessie said.
At that point, Jessie and James both ran over. ""Tetsuya, I didn't expect it to be you.""
"I heard you were planning to teach me a… lesson?" Tetsuya said.
Jessie burst into laughter. "Ohohoho! You're joking, you're joking~ Who said they were going to teach you a lesson!? Whoever it is, I'll be the first to deal with them! James, it wasn't you, was it?"
James waved his hands repeatedly. "N-No, no, no. How could it be? Tetsuya is my savior. Going against him is the same as going against me! Mhm, mhm!"
At this point, Chopper and Tyra also realized that Tetsuya had an extraordinary relationship with Jessie and James. They both hurried over and said, "We were too reckless just now. Tetsuya-sama, please do not take offense."
"No harm done if you didn't know," Tetsuya said. Everyone looked rather bewildered.
"Oh, oh! Tyra look, Tetsuya-sama is really magnanimous." Chopper and the others immediately began showering him with flattery.
"..."
"…By the way, Jessie, James, how did the two of you end up together?" Tetsuya asked.
James said, "After I eh, well, ran away from home… I came to Sunnytown. With the Cacturne you gave me, I've never lost a Pokémon battle. After arriving in Sunnytown, these people naturally accepted me as their boss!"
It was only natural for James to become their "boss" with such a powerful Pokémon as Cacturne. …But Jessie did not even have a Pokémon, so how had she become their "Big Jess" aneki? Tetsuya found himself rather puzzled.
"What about you, Jessie? You've only been here four or five days, haven't you?" Tetsuya asked.
Jessie burst into laughter and said, "Ohohoho~! On my very first day here, these idiots who didn't know any better tried to rob me. The worst part was that Chopper's stupid Geodude actually pulled out a strand of my hair… That completely enraged me! I knocked out Chopper's Geodude and Tyra's Shellder with just a few punches and kicks, so they recognized me as their aneki~"
'Pulled out a strand of your hair…'
Tetsuya could not help shuddering. It really had touched Jessie's red line. Forget Geodude and Shellder, even Seviper probably would not have been able to withstand her wrath. It seemed Jessie had become their "aneki" entirely through the strength of her fists.
"So what are you all doing here now? Robbing?" Tetsuya asked.
"Of course not. We just wanted to answer Leader Giovanni's call. It's just that we didn't have the status of Pokémon Trainers, so the only way was to rob… passing… Trainers?" James said, sounding hesitant at the end.
"So, have you gained anything?" Tetsuya asked.
"Jessie and I both have Pokémon now, and we've already robbed two Trainers, so we have the necessary status as well. We can fully participate in Leader Giovanni's call. It's just that among our minions, only Chopper and Tyra have Pokémon. The rest still don't have any, so they can only keep robbing people," James said.
'Necessary status by stealing Pokémon…? Forget it, just let it go, let it go~'
"…Oh? Jessie has a Pokémon now too? James helped you get it, didn't he?" Tetsuya asked.
"Of course! And it's my favorite Pokémon, Machoke! I love Pokémon with muscles like that~" Jessie then put on an infatuated expression.
Muscular Pokémon like Machoke really were quite popular with women. Some even relied on Machoke to relieve stress and fill the emptiness in their lives…
"Still, let me give you some advice. As long as you don't go too far, it's fine. Right now, the League needs people. But if you threaten the League's fundamental interests, they definitely won't let you off," Tetsuya said.
"So what should we do now? We still have so many minions without Pokémon," James said.
"Jessie, James, you can completely change your strategy. Don't rob people inside the city. Never threaten the League's interests. You can choose whether to advance or retreat accordingly," Tetsuya said.
"Of course we want everyone to have a Pokémon so our entire team can answer Leader Giovanni's call," James and Jessie said.
"As for Pokémon, I do have an idea…" Tetsuya said.
•.
•.
¹. Actually, that's how Tyra called Jesse in the anime.
[1] Actually, that’s how Tyra called Jesse in the anime.