"Sigh..." The young boy from Saffron City was upset. He was bored. And, he was just about as depressed as you can get. This boy was named Mike, although his friends called him Grin. He loved to smile, but not today. "What's the matter, Mike?" his Mother asked him. She was a secretary at Silph Co. She was a very nice person, and cared for her only child. "Oh, nothing," said Grin. He still stood staring through the window. He was staring at a particular building, with the words 'Saffron City GYM' on it. "Miss your Dad, huh, kiddo?" his Mother asked him. She looked at a chair at Grin's desk and it floated over to the window. "Here. Sit down." Grin took the chair and sat down. His Mom took a seat on his bed. "He's always away at the Gym! He only comes home late at night and goes back in the morning. I almost never get to see him. All I have to look at him is this." He took out a very small picture frame with a small button on the back. Grin pressed the button and a recording came from the frame. "Hiya kiddo! How are you? I'm just fine. Bye, now! Keep training your Pokémon. And don't forget, I love you!" That was it. His Father didn't have much in the way of words. But he did have a great way to handle Pokémon. That's how he got to be Gym Leader of Saffron City. "Well, you could always go over to see him!" his Mom suggested. "But he's so busy! There's always one Pokémon trainer trying to battle and beat him. Especially because they always lose, they always try to beat him again. He'd never have time." "Well, I guess your right on that, but you could always try going over. It couldn't hurt!" "I guess your right. It couldn't hurt," said Grin. He ran over to his dresser, and grabbed the two Pokéballs that lie on top of it. "I'll take my Slowpoke and Haunter with me!" He ran outside. He took one out of his pocket. Near the button, there is a water drop with an eye in front of it. That's what Slowpoke was, a Water/Psychic Pokémon. He threw it out on the ground. A Slowpoke came out. The Pokéball flew back to his hand and he put it in his pocket. "Hey Grin!" said Grin, which is what he happened to call his Slowpoke. "Guess what? You, Peeves, and Me are going down to the Gym to see Dad!" "Slow...," said Grin, the Slowpoke. He seemed happy, even though all one could see was a blank stare. "C'mon. You can walk with me. You need the exercise. Maybe after we see Dad, if we do, we can head up to Cerulean City, to challenge the Gym Leader. And, we can maybe catch an Abra or a Kadabra on the way!" They walked toward the Gym. Along the way, they passed Silph Co. There was a sign on the door. It said it was closed, but would be open tomorrow. But Grin didn't care. He wasn't going there anyway. Since his house was all the way across town from the Gym, he decided to stop at the Pokémart. They had a vending machine inside, so he got a can of 'Silph Soda'. It was the only non-Pokémon product produced by Silph Co., other than Silph Cereal. But, Silph Cereal was partially related to Pokémon, because it had small marshmallow Pokémon in it. There were other cereals available there, like Pika Puffs and Jiggly Puffs - with marshmallows! Other companies manufactured them. Grin gave a little of his Silph Soda to his Slowpoke, and drank another half of it. There was a little less than half left, and he wanted to drink it. But, he remembered he was on a diet. He was a little chubby, so he gave the rest to his Slowpoke, which he gulped down with glee. Grin finally came to the Gym. It was large. It was very, very large. It had a picture of a purple eye behind the word, 'GYM.' He looked at it for a while. Waiting for a trainer to come out, finished with the battle. He waited for a long time. Then, he decided to just go in, because there was no trainer there. And if he didn't go in soon, there would be one, and he'd have to wait even longer. So, he went up to the door. Then, "BAM!" A short boy with black hair ran out holding his Ratatta. He looked sad, although he was not crying. Meanwhile, Grin was lying on the floor, the door had hit him pretty hard. His eyes flashed quickly, and he was back home. He got up and went into the bathroom. He put on a Band-Aid, and ran into their lovely living room. His Mom found him there. "What are you doing back? Was he too busy? If he was too busy to see his own son, he's in for it tonight! You can bet on that!" his Mom said. She was definitely angered. "No, mom. It wasn't that. Some young kid ran out of there, and the door hit me. I teleported home with Peeves and Grin, and put a Band-Aid on my knee." "I see," said his Mom. Then, Grin's Mom did a little thing with her mind, and then one could see a flash in her eyes. Grin instantly felt better. "Wow," said Grin. "That's better. I can't wait until I can use my psychic powers as good as you and Dad!" Now, Grin could only do things like read minds, move things with his mind, and teleport. "I'm off to the Pokécenter. I'm going to see if that kid and his Pokémon are okay." With that he left. "Mike is so nice, and so helpful. He's just great. He's just like his father when he was young," said his Mom lovingly.
Chapter 2
Grin slowly walked toward the Pokécenter. He was wondering if the boy and his Pokémon are all right. "I sure hope they are! Yea, they must be. Dad's Pokémon don't hurt your Pokémon that bad." He decided that he was right, and he went along to the Pokécenter. When Grin got to the Pokécenter, he found that the kid was sitting on a bench reading a large textbook with a Pokéball on the cover. It was the official rulebook for Pokémon matches. Grin walked over to the boy. "Hey, kid!" Grin said. "What's your name?" The child looked at him. He replied to Grin, "My name's Charlie. What's yours?" "I'm Mike, but my friends call me Grin. I'm the Gym Leader's son. Did you come to get your Pokémon healed from fighting my Dad?" "Yea, he's tough. But how did you know?" Grin looked at the boy. "I saw you running out. You kinda smashed me with the door when you ran out..." "Oh," said Charlie. "I'm sorry about that." "That's okay," Grin replied. "How are your Pokémon?" "Nurse Joy says they'll be fine. But right now they're still recovering," said Charlie. "What Pokémon do you have recovering in there?" asked Grin. He was curious. "Well," said Charlie, "there's my Ratatta. And then there's my Buterfree, and I also have my Dragonair. I love them all, but they all fainted fighting your Dad." "Yea, Dad can be harsh with Pokémon, but in person he's not harsh," said Grin. He didn't want people to not like his Father. "So, are you planning on challenging the Gym Leader again, Charlie?" "Yea! I'm going back as soon as my Pokémon are healed! I'm determined to get the Marsh Badge to add to my collection! I'm gonna be the greatest trainer of all time!" "You sound just like that Ash Ketchum fellow who actually did become the greatest!" said Grin, chuckling. "Anyway, Chuckie, I'm off to see my Dad at the Gym. Maybe I'll see when your Pokémon are healed!" said Grin as he walked off. "Yea! See you there!" Charlie yelled, waving. So, off Grin went to the Gym. It looks as if he's made a friend. Will he come in handy? Who knows? Grin walked for a while, then finally got to the Gym. He walked up to the doors carefully, then quickly opened it and went inside. As he walked through the long corridors of the Gym to get to the battling area, he saw another man. The man was very tall, and looked like he might be Lt. Surge's son. He was holding a small, yellow object up to the light. Immediately, Grin knew what it was. It was a Marsh Badge. His Dad had lost. But Grin knew that was okay. All his Father's Pokémon could easily heal themselves using a technique Father taught them, but he taught them not to use it in battle. It wasn't good to do that. He finally got to the warp tile. He stepped on it for about 2 seconds, and he was transported to another one in the battle area. His father was there. "Michael! It's great to have you here!" said his Father. "How are your Pokémon?" "They're great," said Grin. "Here! I'll let you see them." Grin took two Pokéballs out of his pocket, and threw them on the floor. "Grin! Peeves! Come out!" The red light formed two shapes. One in the air, and one on the ground. "Look, guys! It's Dad!" Grin, the Slowpoke and Haunter hurried over to his Dad. Haunter licked him, but luckily Grin's Father wasn't paralyzed. "Peeves! Don't lick Dad!" "Haunt..." The Haunter was disappointed, but cheered himself up by making a funny face at Grin, the Slowpoke. Slowpoke just stared at the Haunter. "It's great to see you, Mike. I have a matter of great importance. It might affect you greatly. I can no longer fulfil my duties completely." Grin just stood there, staring like his Slowpoke.
Chapter 3
Grin was very surprised. "What do you mean, 'no longer fulfil your duties?'" he asked. "I can no longer fulfil my duties as the Gym Leader," said his Dad. "I will have to quit my job as the Gym Leader of Saffron City." "But how? Who will take your place? Nobody's as good as you!" Grin's Father stared at Grin. "I can't do it! I'm not nearly as good as you." "I have an idea. The next person who comes in for a Badge. If you can beat him or her, you will have the title of Gym Leader." "Wow! That'd be great!" And so they waited. Grin had his Slowpoke and Haunter battle eachother to train them both. Then, suddenly, a person materialized on the warp block. "I'm here to challenge Mathew, the Saffron City Gym Leader!" said the kid. It was Charlie! "Charlie! You're here to challenge my Dad, right?" asked Grin. "Yea! You bet I am! My Pokémon are pumped up and ready to go!" "Michael, do you know this kid? This Charlie?" asked his Father, Mathew. "Yup! We met at the Pokécenter!" Grin turned towards Charlie. "Charlie, do you know what? You're gonna battle me, instead!" "What are you talking about?" The young lad was confused. "If I beat you, I get the title of the Gym Leader! And I'm ready! Are you ready?" "I'm ready when you are!" Charlie and Grin both stepped into their appropriate boxes. Grin called out the rules of the match. "Grin versus Charlie. There is no time limit. We will use two Pokémon each. No Pokémon are to leave the battle area. If they do, they will be disqualified. At the sound of the bell, the match will begin! Are you ready, Charlie?" "I'm ready!" The bell sounded. "Charlie calls Butterfree!" "This shouldn't be too hard. Com on out, Peeves!" "Free! Free! Butter butter free!" "Haunt haunt haunt haunt!" Haunter made a funny face at Butterfree. Grin told Peeves to be serious, and it stopped making faces. "Peeves! Use your Hypnosis attack!" ordered Grin. Peeves flew around and it faced the Butterfree. You saw a weird light, and Butterfree fell asleep. "Come on, Butterfree! Wake up!" But the Butterfree didn't wake up. It just laid there. Grin started for his next attack. "Peeves! Use your Dream Eater Attack!" Peeves did that. It stuck out it's tongue, wiggled it about, and it sucked HP from Butterfree. Buterfree woke up, then. "All right! Let's show 'em who's boss, Butterfree! Use your Pin Missle!" "Huh?" yelled out Grin, "Butterfree doesn't learn Pin Missle!" "You seem so sure!" Butterfree used it's Pin Missle. Then Peeves Fainted. "Oh, darn! Okay! Your in for a real treat, now. Come on out, Grin!" A Slowpoke appeared from the red light. "Okay, Grin! We've got to win! Use your Confusion attack! "Slow..." It's eyes glowed. Butterfree was sent into the opposite wall. It just fell then. "Slow!" "All right, Charlie, send out you next Pokémon. It better be formidable." "Oh, it will be! Go! BannanaTat!" A Rattata formed. It did look fierce. "Oh, this is too easy. Grin! Use your Surf attack!" The Slowpoke started to get pumped up. The Slowpoke's eyes glowed. Suddenly a wave appeared behind it. It stood on it's short hind legs, and jumped on top. It stirred it up a little, then steered toward the small Rattata. Grin whipped it's tail, and the water went down, drenching the Rattata. It was lying on the ground, but not yet beaten. "Wow! Nobody's ever survived my Slowpoke's Surf! Your Rattata is great!" "Right! BannanaTat! Use your Hyper Fang!" The Rattata got up, and bit Slowpoke. "Slow..." Slowpoke didn't seem to mind. "This battle is in the bag! Grin! Use your Confusion!" Slowpoke's eyes glowed, and Rattata rolled back against the wall. "Yes! I won! Woo hoo!" "Whoa! You beat BannanaTat! You must be good! You deserve to be Gym Leader!" "Congratulations, Mike! You've earned the right to be Gym Leader!" said Mathew. Grin was so happy. He cheered for all he was worth. He jumped up high and did a little jig. His Slowpoke was happy too. So, to make his good friend happy, he decided to evolve! His body went multi-colored. "Whoa! Slowpoke's evolving!" Then, a shellder burst through the wall, making a big hole in the wall. It grabbed on to Slowpoke's tail. Then, the shining stopped. Grin was now a Slowbro. "Woo hoo! Two great things in one day!" "Well, Mike, I mean, Grin, I hereby dub you, the Saffron City Gym Leader!" A trumpet plays from somewhere outside. Mathew, the old Gym Leader gave Grin a map. It lead to the place where the badges are kept. "Thanks, Dad! Wow! All my friends, Mike, Jessica, Chelsea, Matt, Roman, Andrew, and all the rest will be so jealous! I bet they'll all come to battle me. But with Peeves and Grin, they'll never win! I'll go out to get an Abra or Kadabra as soon as possible." Now Grin is the Gym Leader. Will this turn out to be a long lasting thing? Will Charlie get a Marsh Badge? What will Grin's father do for a living now? Whatever happens, we'll hope for the best!