Josephine Shelby, though she goes by Josie, watches proudly, tension slowly draining out of her, as Ginger gallops across the field. The Agility she managed earlier in the match allows her starter to dictate the terms of the engagement against Morty’s third and final pokémon, a Haunter, with ease. It’s still been a good match of course, but Josie has a fresh team member in reserve and it’s obvious that Morty’s Haunter is running on fumes.
The fight has been a completely different experience from her battle against Whitney, which only affirms her in the decisions she’s made since. It hasn’t been the easiest time, all things considered, but now, as she watches Ginger land another Smart Strike that badly winds her opponent, she can confidently conclude that it’s all been worth it.
Her match against Morty started out great and things only got better from that point on. She started with Soot the Houndour, who did a spectacular job against the Misdreavus that Morty started out with. Of course the Murkrow he sent out next was a surprise and it managed to inflict enough damage for Josie to recall Soot. But then Ginger hit the field and well… her recently-evolved Rapidash really showed off the sheer gap in speed and power between her time as a Ponyta and what she’s now capable of. Add to that her skill with Agility…
It must be a rare sight for the spectators, to see Morty’s opponent be the one that seems to blur in and out of existence, materializing to dish out a hit before dipping out of range before a counter can be struck. From Morty’s intrigued expression, it’s something he himself is also not particularly used to, but Josie doesn’t allow herself to get too distracted. They’re winning, yes, but the fight isn’t over yet.
Still, Haunter is clearly hanging on by a thread, only temporarily saved from being knocked unconscious by floating out of Ginger’s striking range. That could have been a problem, a few weeks ago. By now, however, Josie and her team have put a lot of work in precisely to have answers for these kinds of situations.
In Ginger’s case, that answer boils down to a single instruction.
“Flamethrower, Ginger!” Josie commands confidently, “Burn it up!”
Obediently, her starter rears up on her hindlegs, massive fiery mane flaring up even larger for a moment, before an enormous cone of red hot flame comes pouring out of her mouth. Haunter doesn’t stand a chance, far too battered to even think of getting away, as it gets swallowed up in Ginger’s massive fiery breath for a few seconds. Then, its singed form falls out of the cone of flame, splatting onto the floor before slowly starting to sink into the ground.
Before its unconscious form can sink fully into the floor, Morty is recalling his pokémon, whilst the referee is announcing Josie’s victory, to cheers and applause from the crowd.
A proud tear itches at the corner of her eye, but Josie refuses to let it fall, forcing herself to inhale sharply for a moment, in order to woman up. The Fog Badge and the encouragement she receives from Morty are the affirmation that she’s on the right path now. She’d like to say she’s on the right path once more, but in truth, the quick succession of losses that culminated in her failed challenge against Whitney was exactly what she needed.
Only thanks to some heavy self-reflection and a few serious heart-to-hearts with her team, can she now proudly add her third badge to her collection. The four pokéballs on her belt are the sign of a serious trainer, the private knowledge that she actually captured one of them further supporting her in her belief that she has her place as an equal of any other rookie on the circuit.
Morty’s words are largely perfunctory, though his observations about Ginger’s clear strength do draw a mild blush from her. Ultimately however, the part of the conversation that really sticks with her is the throwaway comment Morty leaves her with mere seconds before shooing her out of his arena, as the next challenger’s match is due.
“Oh and Miss Shelby, the Burned Tower normally has a five badge minimum for those wanting to wander its remains, but I’ll make sure that an exception is made for you. For a fire-type specialist, it’s really the least I can do.”
After her victory over Morty, the only thing Josie wanted to do was text Ran. Which she almost immediately did, proudly informing him of her success and letting him know that she’s been missing him and that she wants to meet up with him once more.
And what does she get as a response?
A notice that he’s about to be one badge ahead of her once more, as of tomorrow, and a halfhearted response about possibly running into each other in Olivine. It’s miraculous how one stupid boy can turn her from queen of the world into a self recriminating mess over the course of just a few text messages.
Fortunately, Lady, her recently-caught Vulpix, is very successful in drawing Josie out of her funk, as the fluffball cuddles up with her and bats insistently at her trainer’s hands with her six tails, making it very clear that she wishes to be pampered. Josie doesn’t object, eagerly digging both hands into the warm fur of her newest team member as she gives her the massage Lady clearly desires.
The contented purr Josie receives in return is enough to drive any thoughts of that frustrating boy she kissed out of her mind. Well, most of them, at least.
She looks out over her team for a moment, with Chief and Soot tugging on the ends of a rope that’s been looking more and more frayed by the day, and Ginger, who rests carefully in the deliberately cleared part of the room that’s just large enough for her to lie down comfortably. Together, they make up her three-badge team. Admittedly, the thought of her lost challenge against Whitney still stings, but between the addition of Lady and the evolution of Ginger, she’s gotten a lot stronger over a short span of time.
They’ll head to Olivine next and melt those steel-types in an incredible inferno. Then, assuming Ran isn’t a dick and actually shows some form of enthusiasm about traveling with her, they can revisit Ecruteak and Goldenrod, in whichever order, really. Sure, at that point heading to Mahogany and Blackthorn leaves her a ways from Cianwood, but the season’s plenty long yet.
And she can’t deny that there’s a part of her that wants to explore the idea of dragging Ran, who by that point should have all of his badges, along with her to Cianwood City and its beaches. If his reaction to her kissing him is any indication, then his reaction to her in swimwear should really be spectacular.
Annoyed with herself for the way her thoughts once again drift to the boy who can’t even muster an “I’ve been missing you too” when she texts him, Josie waves her hand in front of her face, as if batting away the pesky thoughts. Fortunately, a yawn from Lady, showing off her gleaming ivory teeth, proves enough of a distraction to finally have her focusing on other matters.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Specifically, thoughts of the Burned Tower. She’s got plenty of Charcoal already, so the rumors that some of the Tower’s remains can be used similarly don’t really interest her, but the rumors that there might be Magmar lurking in its depths… Now that, that is something that is extremely intriguing to her.
Maybe adding another team member so shortly after adding Lady is premature, but Magmar or, if she ever manages that particular stunt, Magmortar, is a noteworthy powerhouse she’d be happy to go through the extra effort of integrating two team members at once for. Because really, what other options does she have? Flareon is unremarkable, the Cyndaquil-line is rare and unremarkable and from what little she knows of Hoenn and Sinnoh, they don’t exactly have anything better to offer.
Until she can add a Charmander as her final team member, which’ll be a matter of convincing her father to use his deep pockets, a Magby or Magmar is really the only option she feels like adding to her team. As far as she knows, they’re only really native to the expensive Safari Zone, which necessitates a trip to Cianwood City, and possibly the Burned Tower. It’s not officially confirmed, but if there is even a chance of those rumors being true, then she owes it to herself to look into it properly.
Besides, even if the Burned Tower doesn’t offer her the Magmar she seeks, it’s still a good training location with strong wild pokémon that she’d usually be barred from with just three badges. Plus, from what she’s heard, there’s supposed to be some real strong Koffing and Weezing in there. If Ran can’t be arsed to be enthusiastic about meeting up with her, then she’ll just have to send him a picture or two whilst she’s in a location he doesn’t have access to (yet). That’ll teach him, the big jerk.
Her excursion to the Burned Tower the next morning starts off well enough, her trainer ID enough to get her past the automated turnstile and into the enormous Burned Tower’s ground floor. Despite the clear structural damage that’s left enormous holes in walls and lets her see through multiple rooms, she still can’t by any means see the entirety of the tower’s ground floor, more than enough pieces of walls and columns remaining to block her view of at least half of the floor from where she’s standing.
It truly must have been a monumentally imposing building, back in the day, as even now, despite the enormous damages it suffered, Josie feels rather small all of a sudden. Somewhere in the distance, she hears faint echoes of some kind of pokémon battle, but with the sheer scale of the tower and the many obstacles and angles for the sound to bounce off of, there’s no way for her to tell just how far away the battle is, nor, for that matter, from which direction the noise is coming, exactly.
Before she can really get around to exploring, Josie immediately runs into a large sign that spells out a few things to look out for whilst inside. It feels like the typical kind of League-decision for a ‘Trainer-only’ location to simply drop a warning sign and call it a day, rather than actually investing in decent, structural safety measures. Then again, she’s got some idea of just how much work the League has elsewhere with, for example, keeping dangerous wild pokémon away from ranches, so she can’t fault them too much.
Still, the signs are not exactly a roaring endorsement of the steps the League has taken to make the Burned Tower a safe place to be in, with such highlights as ‘when are stairs too structurally damaged to use’ and ‘creaking floorboards, the differences between ambient sounds and preludes to collapse’. Just one look around is enough for Josie to see the merits in the sign though, as upon inspection she rapidly notices that the ceiling directly above her has more holes in it than it does remaining floorboards. In fact, one enterprising trainer or another has actually attached a rope, with climbing loops, to a crossbeam above them, providing by far the most reliable means of getting up to the next floor within her sightline, because neither of the stairs leading upwards that Josie can see from the entrance seem all that capable of bearing her weight.
Of course, there isn’t just the way up to consider, as just a brief look also reveals at least one level of the underlying basement, a large hole in the floor off to the right allowing a free look in that direction. After a moment’s searching, she also spots the doors behind which the stairs to the lower floor are likely hidden. As for wild pokémon, though none immediately jump out to her on the ground floor, she can already see a Koffing gently bobbing along in the basement, seemingly content to drift in a lazy circle around what looks like the charred remains of what must have been a row of support columns.
There’s also the distant sound of footsteps upstairs, another clear sign, combined with the distant sounds of battling, that she isn’t the only trainer in the Burned Tower today, though there don’t seem to be too many other visitors either. The distant presence of other people is still more than welcome, as it makes the charred and burned environment seem just a mite bit less ominous. Not that she’s scared or intimidated or anything, but there is definitely something off about the gargantuan Burned Tower, something more than just the obvious safety concerns.
She examines the ground floor in more detail, finally wandering out onto the floor properly and taking in the damage this place once suffered. After a few minutes, a Rattata pops up out of nowhere, but Josie doesn’t even get an opportunity to release Chief from his ball, as the purple rodent only takes her in for a moment before turning tail and skittering away. The rest of her ground floor exploration is quiet and undisturbed, as she encounters neither other trainers nor any other wild pokémon, all of them seemingly evading her. After what feels like almost half an hour of wandering through the maze that is the ground floor, she’s left to conclude that she’ll have to either climb up to what remains of the higher floors, or descend into the depths of the tower’s basement.
With what remains of the building made out of wood, whereas the basement is dug into the ground, there’s really only one option if she genuinely hopes to find a Magmar. Besides, at least by descending, she won’t run the risk of falling through the floor and injuring herself, like she might if she did try to climb up into the tower’s higher parts.
Mind made up, she wanders over to the doors she spotted earlier. Soon enough, she’s entering the first level of the Burned Tower’s basement. Here, there’s a noticeable smell that wasn’t as present above, where the structural damage to the walls allows outside air to flow in freely. It’s an acrid, unpleasant smell, one she struggles to believe a single Koffing capable of producing.
As a precaution, she releases Chief by her side, the loyal Growlithe taking in the situation immediately and only letting out a single whine at the unpleasant scents that assault his sensitive nose, before he stalwartly follows Josie as she continues to explore. The Burned Tower’s basement is in a significantly better state than what lies above, the far smaller amount of wood involved in its construction having saved it from the amount of destruction the aboveground parts of the structure suffered.
Some minutes later, they actually end up in a brief battle, as an angry Zubat shows its displeasure at their ‘intrusion’ into its territory. Of course Chief dispatches it with just a few attacks, but it’s still a useful find, as Josie quite confidently concludes that a weak Zubat would never live anywhere near a Magmar.
So, down they go.
She doesn’t know how many basement floors there are to the Burned Tower, but there’s at least two, as after ten minutes of searching she does find another set of stairs that lead down. As she descends however, the temperature noticeably rises by a few degrees, to Chief’s clear delight. Josie doesn’t begrudge her companion in the least, as the optimist in her takes it as a clear sign that if there’s Magmar to be found, then she’s on the right path.
However, as she enters the second level of the basement properly, she realizes with a start that there are definitely no Magmar to be found here. Instead, perhaps having chosen this floor for the slightly higher ambient temperature, she stumbles into what can only be described as a warren of Rattata. A warren that happens to include multiple Raticate.
As the whole pile of furry flesh turns beady eyes upon her, noses twitching irritably and overly large front teeth gleaming menacingly in what little ambient light there is, Josie can think of two options. First of all, she can immediately retreat up the stairs and hope that they won’t follow her too far. Second, the option she’ll have to take if she wants to go and hunt down that potential Magmar…
Her hands graze along the pokéballs at her belt, drawing out Ginger the Rapidash, Soot the Houndour and Lady the Vulpix in quick succession. With her full roster in front of her, Josie gives a simple order, “We need to get through them, burn us a path!”
