Battle
Chapter 1: Loser
"Pikachu, c'mon, you can do it!" Ash was sweating hard. He was never so nervous in his life. The battle was one to one, and Gary was winning. If he didn't have enough self control, his whole strategy might go splat, lower than a Dugtrio using Dig. He flicked out his pokedex again, for about the tenth time.
"Hit points at 30%." In his mind, he chanted, All, right, Pikachu, just stick to the plan, c'mon...
For a split second, Gary was back to his old conceited arrogant self, the one from back in their first Indigo League Championship, back when he still had those cheerleaders. "Heh...This is one match that's in the bag. Or should I say in the pokeball." He smiled at his joke. "Umbreon, finish it." The dark type creature jumped high in the air, then spiraled striaght down for an airborne Quick Attack.
Pikachu! The plan! Stick with the plan! The little yellow pokemon lying pathetically on the ground instantly 's long ears perked up instantly. Upon hearing the sound of its opponent, it practically dissapeared from sight. That is until it reappeared on a nearby rock. Agility.
Ash smirked. "One more move, Gary, just one more!"
"Shit," Gary grunted. How could he let this stupid mistake happen! He was so sure that Pikachu of his was almost gone! Damn that Ash and his Jynx; if it weren't for Perish Song, his Umbreon would be beating the crap out of that yellow rat. Now he only had one move left, and he was certainly going to make it a good one. "Crunch!" he spat, venom seeping from both the word and his glaring eyes. This battle...it meant everything...
The Umbreon opened its fox-like mouth, then clamping it, releasing a reddish energy that looked like a giant set of jaws. Pikachu jumped in an attempt to get the hell out of there, but was caught in mid-air. Thirty damage...it only needed to do thirty damage...
Ash frantically flipped open his pokedex again. "29%," it read. "15%...10...4...3...2...1..." It stopped. So did time for a moment.
Then the dark-type fell onto its side.
"We won..." Ash's knees buckled. "We won!!!" His eyes glittered in pride. "We won! We won! We won!"
As soon as the shock subsided, an intense uproar was heard from the crowd.
"He did it...he...won..." Misty brushed a strand of hair from her face. "He won..."
"Misty, c'mon, let's go congratulate Ash!" cried Brock.
"Yeah, Misty, let's go say hi to the new master!" cried Tracy. The two guys both grabbed Misty's hands, then dragged her off to meet their new Pokemon Master and old friend, while a little white Togetic fluttered behind the trio.
I lost, Gary thought, still staring out onto the battlefield. His Umbreon...lying...defeated... He blank eyes gazed out onto his opponent. His opponent...and his...friends...He used to be my friend...We used to be best friends...All I had was Umbreon...He even beat Umbreon...Now it's just laying there...Dead... Gary shook his head. He was insane! What was he thinking? Umbreon just fainted, that's all. A short trip to the Pokemon Center would make it feel as good as new, and he could always go for a rematch with Ash. It's not like the end of the world or anything. Might as well thank Ash for a good battle, though. And...I geuss...maybe congratulate him...
Gary jumped off the platform. It wasn't that high, actually. Not like last time, when they were twenty feet off the ground and you needed a ladder to get off. He walked towards Umbreon first. "Thanks, Umbreon. You did better than I ever imagined you could. Someday we'll beat him. Together. As promised." He picked up the frail and vulnerable looking creature, unlike how it looked fifteen minutes ago. Then he walked over to his rival. "Ash."
He turned around. "Huh?"
Gary blushed. Congratulating was not his thing, especially to his least favorite rival. He took a deep breath, then splurt, "ThanksforagoodbattleAshcongratulations!"
"Uh...thanks...I geuss..." Gary turned around stiffly to walk away, or run; now he was about as red as a Charmeleon. "Hey, wait, Gary!" He stopped. "Gary, now that we've settled this whole rival thing, I was thinking...Maybe we could just be friends? Like old times..." He ran. Ash chased after him. "Gary, wait! Gary!!"
Friends...rivals...no...we're not either...we're nothing, now, Ash...Nothing was settled...You're the Pokemon Master and I'm the loser...that's how it always was, that's how it'll ever be...no matter what I say or do...
Like old times? In your dreams, Ashy-boy.
"Gary..." Ash whispered.
Misty smiled. Only Ash would care about his rival that way. She patted his shoulder "Don't worry, Ash, he'll come back." She smirked. "What's really important now is for you to buy me a nice new bike. Remember, custom built!"
Ash faked a laugh. "Aww, Misty, you always know how to sap all the fun outta winning! C'mon, we'll go out for your bike tomorrow!"
Misty blushed. "Oh...and Ash...," she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Congratulations."
Ash, shocked at first, smiled and returned the hug. "Thanks."
Tracy smiled. He expected something like this to happen eventually. Brock, though, had an odd reaction. "Why couldn't that be ME?!? I wanna hug!!!" he cried. "Now where's a Nurse Joy when you need one..."
-
Gary was still running. The plan was to get to a Pokemon Center outside of Indigo first, stock up on supplies, then leave. No mess, no crowds of people crying out, "Hey, it's the loser, Gary!" He didn't know where to go anymore. Maybe just wander around, looking for trainers to battle.
He arrived at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City about an hour after he left the Indigo Plateau. It wasn't surprising he got there so fast, after all, he ran the whole way. He was in pretty good shape, too, with all the training he did with his pokemon, though it really didn't matter in the end. He entered quietly, almost as if he was walking through a hive of sleeping Beedrill.
"Good afternoon. Would you like me to heal your pokemon?" Nurse Joy. Always the polite one.
"Hello, Miss Nurse Joy. Would you take care of my Umbreon for me?" huffed Gary, a little out of breath from his run.
"Of course." She smiled and took his precious pokemon to a little machine. "So, did you see the match today?"
See it? I was in it. "Yeah, I saw it. It was pretty cool."
"Could you tell me who won? I only got to see part of it, then my TV short-curcuited right when Umbreon was about to finish that Pikachu off."
Gary felt a wave of releif wash over him. She didn't recognize him at all. "I think that Ketchum kid won. He's pretty cool, I never thought someone my age could win, or else I would've entered this year," he lied.
"Ketchum? You mean Ash Ketchum? Oh, I know him! He came here three times before! The first was before we had to rebuild it because of a fire, then he came back here after he earned an Earth Badge, and after that he came back here a week before the competition. He's such a nice young man, that Ash."
Yeah, nice, just peachy. Gary smiled and nodded. A beeping sound was heard.
"Oh, your Pokemon's all healed." She left for a moment and came back with a happy Umbreon in her arms. "Would you like anything else?"
"Yes, please. Do you have any more travel bundles?"
"Oh, sure, plenty. I haven't gotten any requests for those ever since the competition started." She left again, then came back with a rectangular box the size of two large dictionaries stacked on top of one another. "Would you like to make a donation to the Pokemon Center Medical Fund?"
"Sure," he stated. Gary dug through his messenger bag and pulled out a few crumpled dollars, attempted at smoothing them out, then handing them to the nurse. "Sorry."
"That's all right, any donation is a good one. Thank you!" She smiled. Gary smiled back. Even if she was a bit ticked, she wasn't showing it at all. Which was good enough for Gary.
He left the center, Umbreon at his side. "Where do you wanna go now, Umbreon?"
"Breon!"
"Pallet Town? We can't go back there, losers like me aren't really accepted there. You can go back if you want, though. You can tell Gramps I'm not coming back."
"Bre!" Umbreon shook its head vigorously.
"Heh...well, since you won't leave me alone, I geuss we're stuck together. But we have to avoid people at all costs. Maybe I'll get a haircut or something. The only time I'll ever show my face in public is to beat unsuspecting trainers. Maybe we'll become a ledgend or something. Just you and me...yeah...us two...together..."
"Breon?"
"Yeah, maybe I am a little crazy. But I know we'll be shot down for life if we don't train up a lot. Ash was a lot smarter than I figuired, and underestimating my opponent is the last thing I wanna do."
"Bre."
Gary laughed. "Yeah, I know, that's obvious. C'mon, whaddya expect from a loser?"
"Bre! Breon, umbreon!"
"I am too a loser! You saw me out there! I was hell on you! I should've saved Arcanine for Jynx and then used you when I was all out of choices! You know I can't have you hurt!"
"Bre, breon!"
"Why? That's a good question...I geuss you're a little more special to me, maybe because you're always around. Plus, you're a dark type, and you've got so many advantages that I'd prefer to keep you until I really need you in battle." Gary dropped his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Umbreon, I suck at being your trainer."
"Bre! Breon, bre!"
Gary's frown quickly flipped upside-down. "So you stick around 'cause I cook well, do ya? Maybe I shouldn't give you those extra treats before bed, huh?"
"Bre!" Umbreon playfully nudged Gary's leg.
"You know I'm kidding, Umbreon, right?"
"Bre."
"Heh...yeah, I know, 'Duh'."
-
Author's Note: Oh, yeah! This story kicks serious ass so far! Woo! And don't worry about not getting chapters quickly, the whole thing's pre-written. I just need a few reviews, then, in about a week, you get the next chapter! ^.^;; Yeah, I know, I'm just a desperate author trying to get a few reveiws...nothing wrong with that, right? (::A couple of tomatoes fly towards Deena::) Maybe I was wrong about that...~O.o~