Still in the desolate, wooded outskirts of Goldenrod City stood the vindictive Latoshi. The malicious young man with powers similar to Antoshi was parked silently in front of a tall tree. His eyes were closed, seemingly in a trance. He breathed calmly and deeply, replaying the battle with his blond-haired rival in his mind. He was unable to let go of the fact that he was forced to flee in the end. To him, it was an embarrassing loss. The thought of fleeing from such a kind-hearted person sickened him. It made him to swallow all the taunting and bragging he'd done to the boy and his Typhlosion pal, striking his pride with a reverberating pain that would not subdue.
His clenched fist suddenly twitched, growling softly as he envisioned Antoshi's smiling face, mocking him. He grit his teeth, his whole body starting to shake with rage. His black aura soon emerged from his body. It quickly began to flare more and more wildly in tune with his level of anger. His eyes shot open, consumed with the blackness of his aura. He yelled in a rage, charging at the tree before him. He jumped and spun around, nailing its trunk with his heel and going straight through as though the three-ton tree had the density of paper. The impact split the tree from its foundation, causing it to loudly topple over.
His rampage continued as he leapt to several other trees, striking them with a variety of energy-laced punches and kicks, toppling them over in one strike just as he'd done with the first. By then, nearby woodland Pokémon had begun scrambling in all directions from the chaos. He stood amongst the wreckage, hunched over a bit, breathing in an animalistic fashion. He suddenly leapt high into the air with considerable hang time. He surveyed the destruction he'd caused for just a moment, envisioning each one to be a representation of his fallen rival. He yelled loudly, summoning a barrage of energy blasts that rapidly descended upon the fallen trees. The nearby ground rumbled from the explosions of energy.
He continued to grit his teeth angrily as he fell to the ground amidst the cloud of dirt and debris. As the air cleared, he found himself in the center of a new clearing. He'd completely destroyed it all, standing on nothing but flat, loose dirt.
'Calm yourself,' the voice in his head quietly spoke. He obliged, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before letting his head fall back. His aura seemed to slowly fade into his body as he opened his eyes with a heavy sigh. He stared blankly for a moment at the white clouds wafting slowly through the sky.
"I want to finish him," the boy uttered. "I just want him dead and out of my life."
'Perhaps, when he's no longer useful. But for now, he is a perfect asset to our plan.' Latoshi frowned at the idea of joining forces with him, staring coldly at the trees a short distance away.
"He thinks he's so righteous," Latoshi angrily muttered. "Trying to defend the disgusting plague of humans of this world."
'The only righteousness is yours. That's to cleanse this world of the filth and start anew.'
Latoshi minutely nodded, glancing at the bandages wrapped on his arm. They'd been covering his wounds from the battle. He went ahead and began unravelling them, wishing to see how his wounds have healed. He heard the voice hum with intrigue as the bandages fell to the ground.
'Your injuries have healed remarkably,' it said, audibly impressed. Latoshi curiously looked over his arm before flexing his fist. He smirked a bit, knowing that in just a few days all the injuries from his grueling battle had healed. But he began to wonder if he'd always been able to heal from injury so quickly. He was still unable to recall his memory from before waking up in the hospital. He shook it off and huffed a sigh.
"I'm ready," the boy spoke. "I want to fight him again. I don't care how far I have to push myself to take him out of this world. Once my brother ceases to exist, there's nothing to stop me." His green eyes glared intensely, feeling his blood starting to boil as he pumped himself for an impending battle.
'Now, now. There's no need to rush so hastily into battle. In fact, I don't want you to.' The boy's eyes widened.
"What are you saying?" his voice raised with surprise as he asked. The voice just chuckled.
'Relax,' he instructed. The boy's arms almost immediately dropped to his sides in compliance. 'I have a much better plan. One that will prey on humanity's ignorance and gullibility. Before that, however, I want to help you master some of your incredible power.' Latoshi was intrigued by the idea. He chuckled softly as his lips curled into a devious smile.
"Very well, then," he replied, his eyes quickly flashing red on black.
——
Antoshi and Fireball continued to aimlessly wander around Goldenrod. The heat of the mid-day sun did not seem to bother them, particularly Antoshi who was silent and kept his gaze affixed to the ground. He suddenly got a chill, though Fireball did not seem to notice. He sensed Latoshi's energy being emitted in the distance. He did not want to tell Fireball, opting to keep yet another worry bottled up inside him.
Fireball felt badly for Antoshi's current situation. The boy was chock full of woe — a sharp contrast to his usual, upbeat spirit. He folded his arms as he hummed thoughtfully, wondering what he could do to cheer him up, even a little bit. For a moment, he cursed Latoshi for adding to his friend's misery. If not for him, they would not be in such a situation. Even he didn't know how to deal with the bloodthirsty young man.
Fire seemed to gasp suddenly when he formulated an idea, remembering something that Latoshi had done. He was uncertain if it would lift Antoshi's mood, but he was willing to try. He cleared his throat, preparing to speak.
"Antoshi," he said, catching his friend's attention. "You still need to get new clothes."
"Huh?" the boy seemed to utter, as though in a daze. He glanced down at his clothes, having completely forgot about them. It did not seem as important as his predicaments with his parents and with Latoshi. "Oh yeah," he quietly added.
"Well, how about going to the clothing store Latoshi burgled? You could make the store owner happier." Antoshi stopped in place, visibly stunned by the prospect. For a short moment, he felt badly for not thinking up the same idea sooner, but the advent of cheering up another person made him feel better.
Antoshi looked up at his friend with a grin. Fire quickly responded with one of his own, happy to see his friend in better spirits.
"Race you there!" Antoshi said, giving little warning before taking off into a run.
"Hey, no fair!" Fire shouted as he lumbered along after him, unable to run as quickly as his friend. From where they were, the clothing store wasn't terribly far, only a few blocks away. Stretching his legs a bit seemed to relieve some of Antoshi's stress, making him feel invigorated. He took several stops to wait for his friend to catch up. He laughed inwardly as the sight of a large Typhlosion pattering down the sidewalk freaked out several people, while catching the interest of some children.
"Come on, come on!" Antoshi hurried his friend as around the next corner was the clothing store. Fire huffed and puffed as he neared, idly noticing the park across the street where they had lunch upon their arrival in the city.
"Maybe this wasn't... such a good idea," Fire breathily said. "I mean... taking a cab... would've been a lot better." Antoshi chuckled, giving his friend a playful shove.
"Almost there," he reassured his friend as they walked together toward the store. As they approached it, Antoshi envisioned the sight of broken glass on the sidewalk and remembered Latoshi, bringing up his previous worries. He quickly shook it off. He knew that he was going to have to deal with his problems, whether it be with Latoshi or his parents — moping was not going to help resolve anything.
Antoshi pushed open the door to the store, allowing his friend to duck inside before entering as well. They both took a deep breath and sighed happily, enjoying the store's hanging smell of new clothes.
"Hello!" a voice greeted them from behind the counter. Antoshi's smile widened a bit as he saw the familiar face of the owner. "Wow," the man added, noticing the terrible shape of Antoshi's clothes. "Looks like you came to the right place, son!"
"Yes, I did," Antoshi replied open-endedly, happy to have seen the owner once again.
"Well, feel free to take your time and look around." Antoshi nodded, he and his friend beginning to look down the racks of clothes for a suitable replacement to Antoshi's.
Before long, the boy found red shirts similar to his own. He took them off the racks and inspected them. At the same time, Fireball was off in a separate area, curiously inspecting expensive men's suits. He plucked the hanger of a long coat off the rack with the tips of his fingers. He nodded and hummed thoughtfully as though he were grading the detailing of the garment. He then looked around suspiciously, making sure nobody was watching him as he removed the coat from the hanger, eagerly wanting to try it on. Just as he was about to slip an arm through, he heard someone loudly clear their throat behind him.
He looked back, seeing a man wearing a security uniform, arms folded, glaring angrily at him. The man motioned his head to tell the Typhlosion to put the clothing back. Fire chuckled nervously, carefully sliding the garment back on the hanger and gently placing it back on the rack. He shot the security guard a nervous grin, slowly backing away before breaking into a frantic sprint back to his friend, his weight rumbling the ground a bit, much to the shock of the other customers.
Fire looked back, seeing the guard continue to glare suspiciously at him.
"Are you making trouble?" Antoshi idly asked as he looked at jeans.
"To be honest..." Fire trailed off, looking at all the faces glaring at him. "...Yes." Antoshi chuckled as he draped a pair of jeans similar to his own over his arm.
"Like my mom says, 'I can't take you anywhere,'" the boy joked, taking a second pair and draping it over the first.
"The same clothes as your old ones?" Fireball curiously asked, looking at what Antoshi had picked out.
"Yep," Antoshi idly replied, making one more glance over the rack of clothes. Fireball shrugged. He was not willing to judge what his friend wanted to wear.
"All done," the boy added. "Come on." He lead his friend over to the check-out counter, while Fire grinned and waved nervously to the security guard who continued to keep his eyes locked on the large Pokémon.
Antoshi laid his clothes down on the counter.
"All done, I see," the owner spoke as he began to ring up the clothes.
"Yep!" Antoshi enthusiastically replied.
"Two pair of the same clothes?" the man wondered aloud. "Are you stocking up?"
"I was in the crowd other day when you had the break-in," he explained. "I heard a few things got stolen so I wanted to try to make up for what the thief took by buying an extra set of clothes."
The man seemed a bit surprised by his generosity, but his surprise soon shifted into a calm smile.
"That's awfully considerate of you, even though it's not your fault."
"I still feel kinda responsible," he quietly replied. The man seemed a bit confused by his remark, leading Antoshi to change the subject.
"I... saw the glass pull itself back together," the boy said, holding back a smile. "How'd you do it?" The owner looked around before leaning in toward him.
"Just between you and me, kid," he quietly spoke, "I didn't." Antoshi feigned surprise as the owner pulled away. "But heck, it's attracted more business, so who am I to complain?" he added with a loud chuckle. Antoshi grinned from ear to ear. He glanced to Fireball, who had a similar toothy smile on his face.
The owner then finished scanning the clothes and Antoshi proceeded to pay. The man gave him his change and began to place a set of clothes in a plastic bag. Antoshi waved a hand to stop him, opting to tuck both sets of clothes in his backpack instead. The man looked at him with a dumbfounded expression as the boy and his Typhlosion walked out the door, waving politely as they left. Antoshi took a deep huff of air before sighing happily.
"So, uh," Fire spoke up with an amused tone. "Where to next?"
"Fire," he began in a spirited tone, "I think it's time we start our journey for real. We came to Johto to collect eight badges and compete in the Johto League! It all starts right now."
"That's cool, but... aren't you forgetting something? You know, the whole point of coming to the clothing store?"
"Why would I forget--" Antoshi stopped, looking down to realize he hadn't changed out of his old, torn clothes. He stared incredulously into the distance before dashing back into the store to use the dressing room.
He came out a couple minutes later, hanging his head in embarrassment.
"Let's just go," he muttered, quickly shuffling off toward their destination with his laughing friend in tow.