Last chapter in Orre (finally). Can't wait to get to Kanto and spend 20 pages describing a rock.
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"20."
"40."
"25."
"40."
"30?"
"Son of a- what part of 40 do you not fuckin' understand!?" The woman leaned over her counter to glare at me. Her faded blue dress had seen better days and so had she. Her weather-beaten skin sagged in a way that told of a sudden, hefty weight loss, brown roots showing through blond hair dye.
"The part where you want 40 for a single bag of rations! Do I look like I have that kind of money!?" I dramatically indicated towards my body. The clothes I had liberated from Kurt had been in bad shape when I got them and a week in the desert, plus the 5 days in Gateon, had left them as little more than sandy, dirt covered rags. My hair was starting to fuse into one solid mass and the salt water made me itchy as fuck.
God, I needed a shower.
Or, Arceus, I guess.
"If you can't pay then fuck off. Do I look like I can afford charity!?"
I did my best to keep my eyes on the street vendor as Ra crept forward in the corner of my eye.
"Please, Miss. I just need the one for my family. My sister is real little and she needs-"
"Yeah yeah, your parents are dead and you need to feed your 15 siblings. You think you're so smart, but I hear this shit 20 times a day and no one-"
A loud scraping sound interrupted her and made her spin around to her stock of wares. Ra froze with the lip of the rations bag in his mouth, half way out from the wooden table that served as her desk.
"WHAT THE FUC-"
My hands impacted her back and sent her crashing into the pile. She fumbled around as I tore the bag from Ra and started sprinting.
"RUN!"
"YOU LITTLE FUCKIN' BASTARD, GET BACK HERE!"
The yelling faded into the background noise of Gateon as we pushed our way through the crowd. After a couple of minutes, I ducked into an alley, Ra on my heels. A couple of side streets later, I stopped and waited to see if she'd follow us. Chances were small, though. Leaving her store unattended for even a second would see her cleaned out, and no one cared enough to tell her where we went anyway.
Theft was stupid easy in the port city as long as you stuck to small street vendors.
"Hehehehe, good job buddy. A little close at the end, but we figured it out," I praised while giving Ra some chin scratches. He did his best to remain dignified through the petting, but the spasms in his hind leg gave him away.
He tried so hard to be cool. It was very cute.
"Okay, with our stock, that's food for 3 days, at least. Let's head back and share this with your sister. We need a plan if we are getting on that boat later. We're almost out of time."
"Awww, leaving us so soon? And without even a going away present?"
I had to fight a smile as I turned and saw the gang behind me, Sharon in front with his signature smirk, throwing his Pokéball casually in his hand. I lost that fight with my facial muscles as Rat waved at me enthusiastically until Reed forced him to stop.
Turning back to Sharon, I gave him an equally arrogant grin.
"I know my presence has been a highlight in your pathetic little life and that you've got nothing else going on, but I can't keep wasting my time with you losers. The first time was fun, but now… it's just sad, really."
Sharon scowled at my words, turning back when one of his cronies "oooh"-ed.
"Shut up, Joe, I swear to freakin' Giratina!"
Joe mumbled an apology. I knew that there were 5 of them, but I always forgot about Joe. Everything about him was so unassuming. He wasn't tall and skinny like Reed, or short and broad like Sharon. Rat was the smallest while John looked closer to a teenager than a kid, big and brooding. I had learned that he'd usually functioned as the muscle when Meowth alone wasn't enough, being a couple of years older than myself.
He was kind of dumb, but backing up a full on fucking Pokémon was a wild statement.
"And what do you mean sad and pathetic!? The score is only 3-0, and we almost 'ad you the last time! My comeback starts right 'ere and now! Go, Meowth!"
I chuckled as the tan feline appeared in a flash of red. Over the last week I ran into the gang several times and had battled Sharon twice after the first time. And yes, admittedly, he'd nearly beat me the third time. I had grown a smidge overconfident after winning twice and tried the same strategy again. Say what you will about Sharon's intelligence, which wasn't terribly impressive, but he wasn't the type to fall for the same trick twice.
We seemed to have come to some sort of understanding after I let them keep some of the money and the rations. They'd stopped trying to trick me and kinda just appeared for a battle at random times. I wouldn't call us friends, but we were friendly.
"Suppose I can take your money one last time." Ra walked out in front, looking disinterested. Meowth had lost most of his interest after being defeated three times in a row.
He'd give it his all out of pride, yet he had nothing to prove anymore.
Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed the small ball I kept there. A button press enlarged it and a small toss had it releasing its contents and bouncing back. I caught it with a wide grin. Using a Pokéball never got old.
I bent down and picked up Feebas after she finished materializing.
"Hello, princess. You want to watch another fight?"
A slow blink and gaping mouth was my only response, but she did turn her head slightly so she could see the action. I chuckled and pet her a bit. She wasn't the most expressive of creatures, but I was slowly getting the hang of it.
While Water-Type Pokémon didn't actually need to stay in water to survive, Fish-like Pokémon, however, were essentially like… well, fish on land and without it were basically incapable of movement. I remember a Feebas from the anime that could levitate, so it might be a solvable problem in the long run. But for now, she was stuck getting carried around by me when she wasn't in her ball.
Ra'd taken it very well when I decided to prioritize getting Feebas a Pokéball before him. I think he might've even preferred it that way. He didn't seem particularly enthused by the idea.
Not that carrying her was a problem, necessarily. I didn't mind, and she was far from combat capable. Both too young and weak. On land, her Tackle was just flailing around, and her Water Gun…
Well.
"Water Gun!", I suddenly exclaimed, pointing Feebas at Sharon. He gave a start and covered his face with his arms in anticipation as Feebas' cheeks slowly ballooned. Then she released it.
The thin stream of water traveled two feet before hitting the ground with a SPLAT.
I laughed my ass off as Sharon started waving his fist at me.
"IT'S NOT FUCKIN' FUNNY! IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME, AND NOT THIS TIME EITHER!"
"Yeah yeah, calm down." I said. The water had actually made it further than I expected. When I had pulled that prank the first time, it hadn't made it more than an inch.
My little girl was already growing up.
"Are we throwin' down or not!?", Sharon did not seem to share my appreciation for the joke, based on the way he crossed his arms.
I almost agreed when we were cut off.
"Are you really leavin'?"
Rat's large, sad eyes nearly made me feel bad. Nearly, yet not quite. I was not blowing my chance to get the fuck out of Orre.
"Yeah, I am." I sighed as the kid clutched at his shirt and hid his face. Little bastard had grown on me.
"Look kid. You are more than welcome to come with me, but…"
Sharon picked up the thread from there.
"Sorry Rat, but if we 'ad that kind of money, we wouldn't be living in a tent. I don't know why you like this arrogant prick so much," he sneered at me in an almost friendly way, "but don't cry. That's not cool. You don't want 'im to remember you as a crybaby, do you?"
Rat shook his head as he angrily wiped at his eyes.
"No, I-I'm sorry. I'll stop. It's just…" He peeked at me shyly. "I'll miss you…"
My heart melted a little, I'll admit it. I didn't know what to say to something so heartfelt. Luckily, Sharon saved me from having to figure it out.
"You can whine later. For now! Peri! This is our last meeting, my rival! It 'as to be super cool! Are you ready to do this!?"
I went to respond, when we were interrupted.
"Doing what?"
Spinning around, I barely noticed the dark sunglasses that peered at us from a bald and beardless face, headphones wrapped around the back of his head, almost giving him a halo of plastic.
No, much more concerning was the huge gray and black dog that lurked by the man's side. Its red eyes glanced at Ra and Meowth dismissively, despite the defensive stances they immediately took up, and barely spared the gang a look as they kept their eyes far from its gaze. When it noticed me observing, the lips peeled back, revealing rows of finger length teeth, droplets of spit dripping from them. A huge paw brought it a step forward when I didn't instantly fold.
I quickly turned back to look at the Team Snagem Grunt I'd seen head into Frank's Discount PokéMart almost a week ago. I'd spotted him a couple of times around town, but this was the first time we'd come face to face.
"Uh, we're just 'aving a practice battle, sir. Nothing serious. We're sorry if we got in the way…"
In the week I had known him, I'd never heard Sharon being anything other than cocky or angry. Even after I'd fended off their ambush and they were at my mercy, he'd merely been cautious.
Now, he sounded straight up scared.
Not that I blamed him. This was a member of an organization that mindwiped or killed children and dumped them in the desert, with a fully evolved Pokémon at his side that seemed a single hint away from ripping out my throat.
"Awww, wittle babies play fighting, eh?" He smirked at us. His head moved like he was looking at the two Pokémon frozen in between us, silent as they kept their gaze locked on the Mightyena that in turn wouldn't stop staring at me. His chin tilted in the way of Feebas. "Hmmmm. Vulpix, Meowth, and a fuckin' Feebas. Kinda trash, 'cept maybe the Vulpix. Rich cunts pay alot for the chance at a Ninetales, the sick fucks. Hmmmm," he scratched at his chin for a moment as we all froze.
"Eh, fuck it. Free money. Alright kiddies, hand 'em over."
Silence engulfed the alley as everyone stared at each other. Then, Rat started chuckling.
"H-Haha, M-Mister. That's, that's very funny. Hahahaha!"
The Grunt chuckled along with him and soon, everyone joined in.
Then, he stopped laughing.
"I'm not fuckin' kiddin'. Recall 'em to their balls and give 'em. If not, well," he patted the beast at his side. A bone-shaking growl reverberated off the walls at the touch, "they'll find whatever pieces Mighty doesn't eat scattered 'round the desert."
Out of the edge of my eye, I could see the gang blanch at the threat. I couldn't say I felt much better. It wasn't like Kurt, some deadbeat teen. The Grunt was a professional criminal and I highly doubted it was the first time he'd done shit like that. Team Snagem was the main Team in Orre, at least in the games, so they were likely the main cause of bodies and Mindbroken kids getting dumped.
If we didn't do what he said, there was a very high chance we were going to die.
But still… giving up Ra and Feebas…
"Ra, Quick Attack!"
I just couldn't fucking do it.
The Grunt flinched back as a white flashing Ra slammed into the Mightyena, catching them off guard. The vulpix hit the larger canine straight in the face, sending it stumbling back a couple of steps, shaking its head.
Gasps rang out from the gang, almost drowned out by the pounding of my heart.
But I was calm. I was angry.
Someone was gonna die, and if it was me, it'd be swinging.
"What the fuck! You fuckin' idiot, fine! I'll take 'em from your corpse! Kill the kids!"
The Dark-Type recovered at record speed. Before I could even get a word out, it feinted straight past Ra and lunged at me with its maw wide open, teeth gleaming with black energy.
It was too fast. Ra was still turning around, Feebas was too weak, and my legs had turned to stone. There was nothing I could do but watch as my death approached. I squeezed my eyes shut.
It wasn't fair. All I had gotten to do was be a petty criminal and fight for my life.
I was supposed to be the best. Like no one ever was.
"FAKE OUT!"
My eyelids shot back up just in time to see a tan paw clap Mightyena in the cheek, sending it tumbling head over heels in surprise.
"YOU DUMB FUCK! YOU'VE KILLED US!"
I blinked blankly at Sharon for a moment as he ran up to my side, screaming his head off.
"I… I can't let him take them. I just can't. I'd rather die."
It shocked me how much I meant those words.
He sneered yet also calmed down a bit.
"That's sweet. 'e's still going to take 'em, just from our dead bodies!"
My veins felt like fire, my heart thudding like a machine gun, yet I could feel my lips stretch into a grin.
"Not if we beat his ass first."
I'd meant it to be reassuring, yet the look he gave me told me that it came out more psychotic. Which was understandable, since I felt kind of psychotic. My emotions had flipped right back to furious from terrified.
A hiss and whine pulled our attention back to the fight. Mightyena had gotten back on its feet and smacked Meowth aside. Its eyes went in our direction again, only to squeeze shut as an Ember sprayed it from the side.
"YOU DUMB FUCKIN' BEAST! STOP FUCKIN' 'ROUND AND TAKE CARE OF THIS SHIT! THEY'RE FUCKIN' BABIES, KNOCK 'EM OUT FIRST IF YOUR SO WEAK!"
That was enough for Mightyena to go on the offensive. The Dark-Type turned in Ra's direction, heedless of the flames pelting it like a gatling gun, and charged straight through the fire. It blurred with speed, uncaring for the damage it received on its way to its target.
It slowed down just enough, however.
"QUICK DODGE!"
Ra cut off his attack and crouched down as the large wolf barreled towards him. The Embers had blocked much of its sight, yet it didn't seem to care as the aura obscured Ra's shape. The Vulpix jumped to the side right as Mightyena was upon him, narrowly avoiding the paw flying at the side of his head and letting it impact the ground in a spray of sand and rock chips as the stone cracked under its strength.
Unfortunately, he couldn't dodge the second paw that hurled at him almost before the first had landed. The limb hit him solidly in the side, shooting him into the wall at speeds approaching his Quick Attack. He gave a pained yip as he smashed into it with a crunch!, leaving a slight crater in the wall as he thumped to the earth.
"RA!"
"FUCKIN' FINISH IT!"
"QUICK ATTACK!"
The wolf rushed at Ra, teeth gleaming, only to take another blow to the ribs as a second white missile flew across the length of the alley. This time, it was ready, however. It went skidding a few feet and with some nifty footwork, Meowth went sailing past it on its second pass, a violent double stomp smashing the feline into the dirt as it cried out. The opponent went for another stomp, but was interrupted by yet another Ember distracting it long enough for Meowth to slip out and limp away.
Ra was barely on his feet, looking very wobbly and panting. Meowth was limping badly, its left hind leg dragging behind it, and it was gasping for breath. Mightyena, meanwhile, was also panting and seemed to favor its right side, but it was inarguably in better shape.
We were losing. At the end of the day, two-on-one only got you so far against a fully evolved, more experienced enemy. Mightyena fought like a brute, all force and little skill, with almost no directions from its trainer, but it was simply much stronger, faster, and used to combat.
I only really had one idea left.
"Get ready." I mumbled to Sharon as I shuffled to the side, patting the Pokémon in my arms. Quickly making eye contact with Ra, I gave him a slight nod as the Mightyena got ready for another charge.
Swiftly, I spun around at the Grunt, Feebas held aloft and pointed straight at him from barely 15 feet away.
"WATER GUN!"
The Grunt looked flabbergasted that I would target him, falling on his ass as Feebas' cheeks inflated. Mightyena, however, turned at my shout, and seeing its trainer under attack, rushed forward. It closed the distance in a flash, leaping as Feebas reached maximum capacity, and just managed to get in between as the attack launched.
Water spurted in a stream three feet before collapsing into a puddle.
Mightyena had an almost comical look of surprise as it tried to halt its momentum, tripping over its own paws and rolling as I cried out, Sharon echoing me.
"QUICK ATTACK!"
"QUICK ATTACK!"
Mightyena sprang to its feet, snarling and spitting at the trick, just in time to catch both smaller Pokémon hurling into it. Ra crashed into its snout, snapping its head back in a spray of blood, while Meowth slammed straight into its chest with a loud SNAP!
Mightyena was thrown backwards, rolling and spinning, before coming to a rest against the wall.
It didn't get up.
A cry of victory bubbled in my chest, yet was cut off.
"STUPID FUCKIN' ANIMAL! YOU'RE GONNA GET TURNED INSIDE FUCKIN' OUT WHEN WE GET BACK TO BASE! I HOPE THEY FUCKIN' KILL YOU, MANGY FUCKIN' MUTT! GONNA SELL YOU AS A FUCKIN' RUG!" The Grunt was screaming his head off, spit flying from his lips. His sunglasses had fallen off when he tripped, beady eyes bloodshot with rage. My heart dropped when I saw his right hand reach down to his belt.
A belt with three Pokéballs on it.
"Can't believe this shit, can't handle a couple of fuckin' brats. The fuck was the conditioners thinking, giving me weak shit like that. When Gonzap hears of this…" he snarled to himself while pulling off one of the balls and enlarging it. "I 'pose you think you're hot shit 'cause you beat that fuckin' useless thin', but let me tell you, you ain't seen shit ye-OH SHIT!"
He turned, ready to throw out his second Pokémon, which would definitely take us down. As he looked at us, his eyes widened as he found me right in front of him, Feebas swinging at his head like a bat.
"TACKLE!"
Feebas gave a mighty jerk that ripped her from my hands, bashing her skull straight into the Grunts forehead with a loud SMACK! He collapsed to the ground, Pokéball rolling from his limp fingers.
Stillness settled over the area for a moment as we panted, somewhat stunned at the abrupt end.
"WHOOOOOOOOOooooooo!"
I tilted my head back and howled with victory until I had no more air in my lungs. Breathless chuckles followed as I picked up Feebas and held her over my head.
"Yes! Behold, the strongest Feebas in the world! Hahaha, ooooh princess, you did so well, yes you did," I praised as I rubbed my nose back and forth against approximately the area that would have held her own nose. Her eyes narrowed into a cresent shape as her lips pulled slightly upwards at the corners, wiggling as she tried to imitate my movements.
"And Ra! Oh, I haven't forgotten you, buddy," my attention was pulled as Ra limped over to me and lay down at my feet. I crouched down to give him some enthusiastic petting with my right hand, even sneaking in a kiss between his ears, much to his huffing dismay, though he kept leaning into me despite his complaining. "You kicked that stupid overgrown puppy's ass, yes you did. You did so well. There's a lot of jerky in your future, I swear."
The heartfelt moment with my team went on for a bit, before the crunching of sand and debri from the fight heralded Sharon's approach. The boy was pale, his hands shaking as the adrenaline left him, yet he had a giant smile that matched my own.
"You're freakin' crazy, you know that? Who attacks a fully evolved Pokémon?"
I faux puffed out my chest as I stood back up, Feebas in my left hand and Ra cradled gingerly in my right, to not aggravate his injuries. He refused to make eye contact with anyone, but he wasn't trying to escape.
"The difference between crazy and genius is a matter of success, so I'm actually the smartest man alive."
Sharon snorted. "I thought it was the Grunt that hit 'is 'ead, yet you're the one with brain damage. Weird."
"Haha, very funny. Speaking of Grunt though," I looked down at the scum laying in the dirt. "You mind recalling that fucking beast, and grabbing his balls? By which I mean Pokéballs, just so you don't get any ideas."
I laughed again at the middle finger he raised in my direction while leaning down to do as I suggested. Good to know that some things were universal, even between dimensions.
It took a second for Sharon to identify the empty ball. Luckily, there was a small sign just under the big front button that indicated if a Pokéball was occupied or not. Mightyena was quickly returned in a flash of red and the Grunts belt slung over Sharon's shoulder.
And with that, it was over. It was kind of weird as we all stood around and let things sink in. It was hard to believe that the entire thing took less than 10 minutes.
"Ho-Oh…"
The gasp drew everyone's attention to Rat, who had somehow snuck by me and was rifling through the Grunt's backpack. Seeing that all eyes were on him, he grabbed the bag by the bottom and upturned it, spilling its contents everywhere.
A waterfall of stuff came pouring out, way more than the backpack should be able to hold. There was a ton of average day shit like a change of clothes, multiple water bottles, rations and some assorted snacks. An entire tent fell and rolled off the pile. It was one hell of a catch for starving street rats.
Yet it paled in comparison to the true treasure trove.
Potions, both a lot of normal ones and several of an orange variety that I recognised as a Super Potion, were mixed into the mess. Golden diamond shapes, that could only be Revives, glittered in between cloth while the sunlight reflected off a couple of glass cases containing what looked like DVDs. A double palm sized machine perched near the top, a small circular indentation in the front, right over a small slit that reminded me of a disk tray.
Finally, resting like a crown atop the mound, was a FAT wad of cash.
"Holy shit…" I whispered.
Everyone started cheering. Reed and John were jumping up and down, hugging each other. Rat was full on sobbing at the reversal of fortune while Joe was staring at the loot dumbfounded, which wasn't far from his usual expression, but it was somehow even more vacant.
Sharon, meanwhile, was also staring at the windfall that had come our way, only his was almost a glare, rather than the joy of the others.
"Shut up. 'ey, shut up! SHUT UUUUP!"
The festivities halted at Sharon's scream.
"Look, yeah, the stuffs awesome and we're gonna eat well tonight, but there's bigger problems." He kicked the Grunt in the side, rocking him. "Incase you forgot, we just attacked a member of Snagem. Not only that, we're 'bout to steal a lot of shit from them. We're cooked."
The excitement was swiftly replaced with fear. Understandable, really. Fucking with organized crime, on their territory, was risky business at the best of times, and for a group of kids?
Basically a death sentence.
I did have a potential solution, however, as I picked up the large bundle of bills and flipped through them. There had to be at least 10.000, not counting how much the rest could be sold for.
"I have an idea." I interjected before anyone could start panicking, turning to Rat. "You still want to get on that boat?"
His dirty little face lit up as he quickly spun to Sharon, somehow activating a Baby-Doll Eyes on the same level as Ra's.
I decided to help him out a bit.
"Look, Sharon. You said it yourself, you're cooked right now. Unless you wanna kill that guy and pray nobody hears us or can track us, you can't stay in Gateon." I explained while grabbing a Super Potion. I waited for Sharon to join me and copied him as he twisted the nuzzle, letting a needle pop out of the tip. Ra growled as the sharp injector pierced his skin, but stayed still as I pressed the trigger. "Fuck, the whole of Orre might be burnt. But Kanto is out of Snagem's reach, and it's a lot better than this shithole, anyway."
Sharon kept his eyes on me for a bit, staring at me intently as he thought it over, throwing the empty potion bottle over his shoulder. Eventually he turned to look at his gang. Rat seemed one second away from pissing himself in excitement, Reed and John were still hugging each other and were nodding vigorously, while Joe looked back blankly, before giving a small nod of his own.
Sharon sighed before turning back to me.
"Fuck. Fine. When do we leave?"
I barely managed to constrain my laughter to a grin, not wanting to seem like too much of a weirdo.
"About three hours. It's a six day trip, so we're gonna need supplies. Here," I threw him half the cash, "you guys handle that part, I'll get your tickets. Oh, I'm also taking this." Rat had started shoving the rest of the stuff back into the bag so I quickly swiped the disk tray machine and a pale blue disk case.
Unless I was completely mistaken, that was an Ice-Type TM and the device to use it.
"You can't just decide that, what the fuck!?" Sharon protested as I recalled Feebas with one last whispered praise, and fitted her shrunken ball into the top indentation.
"It's an Ice-Type TM, Feebas is the only one that can use it. Besides, she deserves a reward for saving our asses, doesn't she? AND you have the Grunt's Pokémon. Don't act like you aint making out like a bandit."
Sharon grumbled as he crossed his arms and looked away, yet Ra appeared to be the most offended.
I quickly placated him. "You did an incredible job Ra, and I'm so proud of you too. Don't worry, when we get to Kanto, I'm gonna get you so many TM's, it'll take you years to learn them all."
It seemed to do the trick as he sat down and watched me place the disk into the slot. A light started blinking next to the ball as a whirring sound began and swiftly became louder, much like I remembered an older PC sounding.
A couple of minutes later, the small light flashed three times and then went out, allowing me to pick up the ball with a grin as I handed the machine to Rat to pack.
I'd test it out later, but I already knew what it was. A small label in the corner of the case, that I'd taken care to not reveal to the others, had the name.
Ice Beam. One of the best Ice-Type attacks any Pokémon could learn.
My grin widened. What a great day.
"Okay, so we've got a plan. Meet by the harbor in a couple hours?" I asked, receiving nods all around. I pointed to the backpack filled with valuables. "Want me to take that to the boat?"
That question netted me another stare down with Sharon, only this one went on for much longer. I got it. It was a lot of money to entrust to someone you'd only known for less than a week. I wondered if our recent shared tribulation would be enough.
Not that I had any intentions of running off with the bag, but he couldn't truly know that. It would have to be on faith.
Finally he spoke slowly.
"If you screw us on this… there won't be a continent you can 'ide on that I won't find you."
I nodded back seriously. I actually believed him, or at least believed that he would try. Despite our recent report, I shouldn't forget that this was a guy fully willing to jump people in an alleyway with a knife in his pocket.
After my nod, he waved his hand in the direction of the main street and the harbor.
"Then go. We'll tie him up and stash him, 'case he wakes up. Go get those tickets, we'll see you there."
"See you there, then. Don't be late."
I walked past the rest of them, smiling at Rat's little happiness dance.
The world I'd awoken in wasn't the easiest place to be, with a lot of ups and downs.
But it might really be worth it in the end. I had my team, and now I had… fuck it, I had friends.
Shit really was looking up.
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Smacking a terrorist in the face with a giant fish is a really funny image.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.