John's Journey

This is a fanfic, so all the usual disclosures apply. I don't own Pkmn, just this story. But enough about that. You want to read the story, so here it is.

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The wind whistled sharply as it blew through the trees on the arena. Two young men stood on opposite sides of the 100-foot long battlefield, and waited impatiently for the ref to signal the beginning of the match. Hundreds of eyes watched the figure as he slowly walked to the side of the field into the referee's box. An eternity seemed to pass until -

DING!!

The bell rang, signaling the start of the highly anticipated Pkmn League Championship match. The crowd roared with delight as the two powerful trainers each grabbed a small, red-and-white ball from their belts and tossed them onto the field. Two brilliant red flashes seared the eyes of the onlookers before solidifying into large and monstrous forms.

On one side stood a large, menacing beast that swung its four arms around in intricate patterns before turning to its opponent and beckoning it forward. The other creature stood even taller, if standing was what you could call it. The beast was longer than its opponent was tall, and lay on the ground like a snake. Its mouth opened wide enough to fit a man in whole. The blue scales covering its body glinted brightly in the sunlight as it slithered forward to attack its enemy.

"I think the Gyarodos will win for sure," a redheaded boy of 14-years remarked, as he pointed to the long, blue snake. "What do you think, Gregg?"

The redhead's companion thought before answering. "I don't know, John. Gyarados does have a size and weight advantage, but Machamp easily beats it when it comes to pure strength. I'm going with Machamp." The four-armed monster on the field seemed to prove his point as it bodily lifted the bulky Gyarados and threw it at the ground with enough force to create a sizable impression.

The two boys settled back in their seats to enjoy the match from the safety of the stands. It soon became apparent though, that, despite the heroic performance the Gyarados put forth, it was clearly overmatched. Its angry charges at the Machamp were stopped repeatedly by the awesome defensive skills of its opponent. Constant punches and kicks by the fighting-type soon wore down the Gyarados until it was gasping for breath. Trees were uprooted as Gyarados crashed into them. Surprisingly, throughout all of this, Gyarodos' trainer kept a smile on his face.

"Machamp, lets finish this. Rock throw!"

At hearing its owner's command, Machamp seized one of the many rocks that were strewn about on the field and lifted it high over its head. Just before he threw it though, there came a yell.

"Gyarados, this is it! Use Hyper Beam! Now!"

Immediately, Gyarados opened its mouth and began building its energy. Surprised, Machamp forgot what it was supposed to be doing and just stared at the snake-like beast. When its trainer called however, it remembered the gigantic rock it was holding above its head and prepared to heave it at Gyarados.

But it was too late.

Finished drawing the enormous energy from within itself, Gyarados reared back to its full height. It towered over the super-strong Machamp, who flinched in fear of what was to come. An enormous beam of intense white light blasted from the depths of Gyarados' mouth and propelled itself with lightning speed at the cowering fighting-type. The beam of energy seemed to be absorbed by Machamp's body for a second before a tumultuous explosion blasted him off his feet. He flew nearly the length of the arena before falling heavily to the Earth. Gyarados roared in triumph.

The crowd gasped. With only a single blow, the Gyarados had turned the tables around and defeated the undefeatable. Machamp gasped for air and struggled to get up to continue the battle, but failed. It collapsed heavily to earth and fainted. Paramedics rushed onto the field to assist it.

Gregg turned to John. "That was unbelievable," he said. "Gyarados took him out with one hit. I thought it was going to lose for certain, but it sure showed me."

John grinned at his best friend. "I told ya he was going to win. Didn't I tell you he was going to win? I thought I did. Oh, wait, yeah, I did!" He laughed at his friend.

Gregg crossed his arms and turned away, a sour expression on his face. "Quit bragging," he grumbled. "So Gyarados won, big deal. It was still really close."

"Yeah, it was," John agreed. "It was a really good match." He sighed as people around them started getting up to leave. "Come on, let's go find your Dad."

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An hour later, the two friends managed to find the exit to the stadium. The crowd was huge, and they had trouble reaching it. Finally though, they reached the exit. "Where did you say your Dad was going to be?" asked John.

"Oh, he said to meet him in the Pkmn Center in town. It's not too far from here, only like a fifteen minute walk."

"Okay," said John. "I'll call my sister when we get there and have her pick me up."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before John said, "Thanks for inviting me to the battle. I had a lot of fun."

Gregg nodded. "It's no big deal. You should thank my Dad, he's the one who bought the tickets. Man, were they expensive. You should have seen the prices for one ticket, let alone two."

John stiffened. "Listen, I'll pay you back, or rather, I'll pay your Dad back. I'll get the money somehow."

Gregg shook his head. "Listen man, it's okay. You don't need to pay us back. I mean, where are you going to get the money?"

"I don't know," John mumbled. "All the money I make working at fast-food restaurants goes towards my mother's operations so we have nothing extra. But somehow or other, I will get the money," he said determinedly.

"Listen, it's okay. We already have more money than we need, so it's no big deal." Gregg couldn't understand why John was making such a big deal out of this. "Think of it as a gift," he said.

"It's not that," replied John. "It's . . . well, look, I'm going to pay you back. Just leave it at that." When Gregg looked over at him, he recognized the determined look on John's face. When he got that look, Gregg knew there was no stopping him. He shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

They continued on in silence. As they finally reached the entrance to Viridian City, Gregg noticed a small sign on the side of the road. He paused for a moment to read it.

"Come one, come all, to the annual Pkmn League Tournaments. Battle your prized Pkmn against the best of the best to see how you rank in comparison to all those other elite trainers. Top prize is $500,000 and the chance to battle against the ultimate Masters - the Elite Four! Hurry in today and reserve your spot in the Tournaments."

"Hey, look at this!" Chris called excitedly to John. "There might be a way to get the money after all. It says here, 'Top prize is $500,000.' With that kind of money, you could not only pay back my Dad, but also pay for your mother's operations."

John shook his head. "I don't have a Pkmn, moron. You need one to enter." He sighed and started back down the road.

Gregg hurried to catch up. "That's not a problem," he panted. "My father knows the famous researcher, Prof Oak. Oak gives out Pkmn to anyone who wants to become a trainer. Just pass the official Pkmn Training License Test and you can become a trainer. I'm sure my Dad can use his connections with Oak to set up a meeting between you two."

John looked thoughtful as he listened to Gregg. "You might be onto something here, Gregg." He paused for a moment before saying determinedly, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll become a Pkmn Trainer. But you're coming with me."

"Me? Why me?" asked Gregg.

"Because it was your idea. Because I'm not going alone. Because I'll pummel you if you don't. Take your pick."

Gregg sighed. "Alright. I'll do it."

"Okay then," said John briskly. "Now let's go meet up with your Dad."

The two friends turned and headed into Viridian City, about to begin the journey of their lives.

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Okay, since you just took the time to read all of that nonsense, you might as well spend a few more minutes writing a review. Don't forget to sign it so I know who the flames are coming from! *Swings fire poker*