When Gaius awoke, he was in a blue-lit room, with white walls, peach colored ceiling and plain white tile. There was a window to the right, and Gaius could see the town of Pendragon, distinguished only by its unique weather pattern. He tried at first to get up, but found the task too difficult, as the room started to spin the moment he moved his head. He tried to move his hands, but numerous IV's and medical leads hindered his movement. He could feel that he also had several cords linked to monitors on his chest, and even some on his forehead. "Hello?" He weakly questioned. As he spoke, he could feel immense throat pain, almost as if someone had ripped it out and then put it back intact. Gaius closed his eyes and laid his head back to rest. Memories of the fire swirled around in Gaius' head, however he could not remember how he made it out, or what caused it. The last thing he could remember, he walked into his father's room and...whatever happened after that was a blank. "I must have collapsed and my father brought me to the hospital to make sure I was ok...yeah," he paused, trying to think in order to make sense of the situation, "that's the only thing that makes sense." Gaius could weakly hear a pair of feet walking towards him, causing him to open his eyes and look at the visitor, an older man dressed in a white lab coat and beige pants. The man had pure white hair, which was parted down the middle and slightly forward, as if trying to hide the start of a receding hair line. He had deep wrinkles in his face and around his slightly slanted brown eyes, and thick black glasses hung on a strap around his neck.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Woo" the old man spoke softly "it seems like you were involved in a disturbance. Can you tell me your name?"
"Who?" Gaius asked, confused by the man. After a few moments he collected himself and responded. "My name is Gaius, Gaius Vi Britannia," Gaius replied weakly, still feeling pain in his throat. "Where is my father? Is he all right?"
"Well, first we need to figure out what happened, Gaius. The paramedics found you on the floor of your home. One of the house workers called after the fire department after reportedly seeing the house on fire. When the local Blastoise patrol got there, however, there was no fire and the building seemed in perfect shape. The paramedics found this on you," the doctor reached into pocket and pulled out Gaius' black Pokeball. "We sent this to the Pokemon Center for analysis, and there seems to be a Gengar inside. Do you own a Gengar, Gaius?"
"No, I don't, at least, I don't remember catching it" Gaius slowly replied, trying to put the pieces together. "I must have found out a wild Gengar was making a fire illusion, and somehow I was able to capture it, or, maybe my father somehow captured it in my Pokeball and gave it to me. Even though I know he has never had any Pokemon of his own, but that could still be a possibility. What does my father say happened? Surely you have already talked to him."
"Well, Gaius, I have some bad news, but stay calm now, ok?" The doctor gently pat Gaius' leg, trying to calm him and console him for the horrific news that he was about to tell the young man. "Your father is dead. He seemingly had a massive heart attack, probably brought on by the stress and anxiety of what that Gengar did to your home. Now, we checked the capture time-stamp, so we know it was un-owned when it used its illusion powers. If you can't remember catching it, then perhaps your father did for you, but that strain proved too much for him..." the doctor's voice trailed off, unsure of what to say next. "There's someone who wants to see you, he says it's an important matter about your home and your family estate." The doctor slowly turned and walked away from Gaius' bedside, and motioned for another individual to enter the room.
Gaius lay there in the hospital bed, mouth gaping open as he quickly tried to process all of this information. "How...how could he be dead?" Gaius thought, "He was perfectly fine when I last saw him. This seems...too impossible to be real. How could something scare him so much that he died of fright?" Gaius closed his eyes and bowed his head down, still trying to process the series of events that had just been presented to him. He then heard a second set of footsteps enter the room.
The new visitor slowly entered the room. The man looked to be in his sixties, wearing an official-looking suit and tie under a brown trench coat, his outfit completed with a matching brown hat on his head. "I'm Mr. Grimsly, do you remember me Gaius? It's been a few years since we saw each other, if memory serves."
Gaius thought for a moment, knowing deep down that the name sounded familiar. After a second or two of pondering, it came to him. Mr. Grimsly was his father's personal attorney as well as his financial adviser. His suggestions were what enabled his father to invest money in various stocks to maintain the family's great wealth. "Yes, Mr. Grimsly, I remember you. You worked with my father on matters of business and finance."
"Yes, that's right Gaius" Grimsly replied "under normal circumstances, I would wait until you were fully recovered to meet with you, however, your family's extensive property and finances need an immediate consultation with their new owner, you."
"Me?" Gaius replied, at first unsure at the prospect of owning the family estate. "Surely there is someone else that father named in his will?" The more Gaius contemplated owning the family home and running the family assets, the more he felt disgusted. He had always tried to distance himself from his family's wealth and position, but now it seemed as if it was all forcibly thrust upon him, and that there was no way he could pass it off.
"No, no" Grimsly replied, "you are the sole heir to the Britannia legacy. Your Uncle passed away several years ago in Unova, not that your father and he kept in contact much after your mother passed. The burden falls to you Gaius to run the family household, and I will be here at your side, that is, if you desire me to be, to help you with this transition and to carry out your will, whatever you see fit.
"Whatever I see fit, really?" Gaius thought, slowly forming a plan on what he wanted to do with his family's estate. "Sell everything in the home apart from the furniture and any items in my bedroom or items that belong to me. Donate the proceeds to Pokepals, the charity that brings friendly Pokemon to sick children in hospitals so that they can play and enjoy what good time they have left."
"But, really, are you sure?" The old man replied nervously. "It took years for your father to assemble that collection of artwork, sculpture, tapestries woven from the finest Caterpie silk known to man, and some of the works date back even to your grandfather Charles' time. Are you sure you want to just sell it on the open market?"
"Yes, I am sure," Gaius coldly replied, "Those trinkets and monuments to vanity are of the past, and it is my desire to carve a new path, to the future. Instruct all maids, gardeners and other manor staff that they may continue to receive pay, but that they need only clean on a weekly basis. The manor will also be unoccupied for a length of time, so please install security cameras immediately in case any employees get the wrong idea about an empty house."
"Unoccupied...but...where will you live?" Grimly stammered, "surely you can't expect the family business to run on its own, that would be madness."
"I plan on starting out on a Pokemon journey as soon as I am fully recovered and released from the hospital. I am sure the board members that father trusted can run the company in my absence. I will give you permission to speak on my behalf, and as soon as the lump sum of the family fortune and investment portfolio is moved into my name, you will be able to invest the remainder as you see fit on behalf of myself and the Britannia estate."
"A...a Pokemon journey?" Grimsly replied, flabbergasted, "are you sure that is how you want to spend your time, after all your father has done for you and this town, after all his father before him has done?"
"Yes," Gaius replied, "my mind is made up. Any attempt to change it or sway me from my goal will only result in the termination of my family's business contract with you and your firm. Do I make myself clear Grimsly?"
"Yes, yes of course...sir" Grimsly cautiously added the last word, now finally recognizing Gaius' authority over his most lucrative business venture. "Is there anything you need me to do while you recover?"
"Just bring me a list of what the local Pokemart sells, and of course any relevant legal documents I need to sign in the wake of this...situation." Gaius laid down and closed his eyes as Grimsly left the room. Over the next week, he slowly regained his strength and completed a stack of legal forms two feet high, signing the majority of the family assets to charities, while only keeping a large, yet small by comparison, sum for himself.
When Gaius was released from the hospital, he first ventured over to the local Pokemart, so he could pick up several new additions to his team. "I only have Gengar right now," Gaius thought, "If I want to start strong I'll need some serious firepower. Thankfully this shop sells Pokemon as well as healing items and Pokeballs. If I remember correctly, they even have some rare and top of the line Pokemon. Thankfully, for me, money is not an issue."
As Gaius strolled into the store, he looked first at the left wall. Various healing potions were displayed, then several forms of Pokeballs and other various items that trainers may need on their journey. His eyes quickly shifted to the right side, where individual Pokemon were available for purchase inside their Pokeballs.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" A young man asked as he rose from the floor behind the counter. "Sorry about hiding, I was just checking on our Super Potion supply," the man chuckled and awaited a response.
"Yes, I understand you sell Pokemon here. Is there any you recommend for a newer trainer starting out on a journey? I have some money, but as of yet haven't really caught a Pokemon of my own."
"Well," the clerk replied, pointing to the left side of the right wall. "We have Pidgey, Rattata, Bellsprout, Oddish, Jigglypuff, Caterpie, and both forms of Nidoran in our new trainer section here." The clerk then pointed to the middle section of the wall. "We also have Machop, Sandshrew, Spearow, Mankey and Growlithe in our intermediate trainer section here." The clerk finally motioned to the far right side of the wall. "Of course, this is our advanced trainer section, but since you're new I'd recommend only choosing from the first two groups."
Gaius looked at the wall, slowly analyzing his choices. "While all of those basic Pokemon seem great and all, I'd like more of a challenge. I already have a Gengar, so perhaps something on that level? What's the best that you have for sale?" Gaius' eyes became transfixed on the advanced section, waiting for the clerk to answer.
"Wow, really?" Then I guess you're not that new then, even if you only have one Pokemon. The best we sell here are Tyranitar and Dragonite, although they are probably out of your price range. They're more expensive than almost the entire store combined."
"Oh really, how much are they?" Gaius inquired, "I've seen Dragonite battle in some online videos and it seemed to be an excellent Pokemon. Would you agree that they are both powerful Pokemon?" Gaius' memory flashed back to the championship battle he had witnessed several years prior, how the champion's Dragonite displayed such raw power in the battle, and knew it was a Pokemon worthy of his collection.
"Of course they are," the store clerk enthusiastically replied, "but I'm pretty sure they are out of your price range. They're 100,000 dollars each. No offense, but I doubt someone in their late teens like you has that much money. Besides, we only accept cash, and I doubt anyone would have that much on them out of the blue, those two are mostly just for display as very few people have that much money to spend."
Gaius could feel anger slowly building inside his body and slowly pulled out his checkbook and began writing. "My name is Gaius Vi Britannia. If you know anything at all about this town, then you know that this check is good." Gaius reached into his pocket and showed the clerk his Kanto region ID with his name and address listed, as well as a recent picture. "If you choose not to sell me those two Pokemon, I'll be forced to go to some other Pokemart and give them all of this money for whatever they have. Do you really want to explain to your boss that you let $200,000 walk out the door over a measly store rule?"
"N...no...of course not," the clerk sheepishly replied. "I'm sorry for the confusion Mr. Britannia, of course we will accept your check here, not a problem." The clerk hastily collected Gaius' check and got a ladder from the back to climb to the top row to retrieve the purchased Pokemon. He then set the two Pokeballs on the counter and put the ladder away, this time returning with an additional Pokeball. "I just had a quick call with the owner, and he would personally like to offer you this Beldum as a sincere apology for my foolishness, in the hope that you will continue to visit our store when in town. Beldum may not look like much now, but he'll grow into a strong Metagross after some training."
"Thank you for your cooperation, and for the free Beldum," Gaius replied slyly. "You can tell the owner that I will gladly patronage your store, despite the bumbling of one of its employees." Gaius paused, letting out a chuckle. "I think I just saved your job, you should be happy about that. Next time, remember who your customers are and treat them with respect." Gaius quickly collected his three new Pokeballs, affixed them to his belt and left the store.
"Hey wait!" The clerk called out.
Gaius turned, he was not no more than ten feet from the door when the clerk came out after him. "Yes, is there something else? Did I forget to sign the check or something?" Gaius asked, puzzled by the clerk's action.
"No, nothing like that." The clerk replied. "The check's fine, but I do have a little bit of advice. Although you have several Pokemon, you don't have a Pokedex or an official starter Pokemon from the Kanto region professor, Professor Oak of Pallet Town. I'm not sure if he'll give you a Pokemon, since you already have four, but you could at least ask for a Pokedex to keep track of who you have caught and which Pokemon you see in the wild.
"Thank you," Gaius replied smiling. "That's the most useful thing you've probably said all day." Gaius sneered and walked away, leaving the clerk in the street to tend to the shop. The new trainer was eager to get underway to Pallet Town and quickly walked onto the main road out of town. After walking for a few miles, Gaius found a large green field with a gigantic tree in the center. He then decided that the tree was a peaceful place to take a long nap.
Gaius awoke shivering and with a cold sweat and took in his surroundings. He was lying under a large oak tree, most likely a century old, with branches and leaves sticking out this way and that, almost as if its job was to try and blot out the field from the sun.
There was a cool breeze in the air and he could see the wind part the tall grass of the field with each gust. "It was just a dream," Gaius reassured himself aloud, "I'm ok, exactly where I laid down at, and it's a regular August day..." The dream had haunted the young man at least once a week since he set out on his journey, approximately one month ago. Gaius stood up and thought about how much had happened over the past four weeks, from his father's death, to his own recovery and starting on a Pokemon journey.
"Yeah...it's surprising to think all of that happened in just four weeks, huh," Gaius mused aloud. He looked down at his four Pokeballs affixed to his belt, decided that his rest was over, and that it was now time to catch some new Pokemon. He stood up and started down the path to Pallet Town, knowing he probably only had a few days or less left on his trip. Gaius reached down on his belt, pulled two Pokemon loose and opened them. "Gengar, come out and go up ahead in stealth mode and report back if you see any rare or powerful Pokemon. Beldum, stay with me buddy. You're pretty new to battling, so just stick close, I'll see if I can find a Pokemon for you to battle, alright?" Both Gengar and Beldum appeared from their Pokeballs in front of their trainer.
"Gengar!" The ghost Pokemon smiled a toothy grin and leapt forward, turning invisible after a few steps.
"Beldum Beldum" The steel Pokemon replied. It hovered at eye level a few feet to Gaius' right side, keeping pace as his trainer walked down the path.
After twenty minutes or so, Gengar reappeared in front of Gaius. "Gengar...Geng," the Pokemon pointed his arm forward towards the left side of the road.
"What, you found a nice Pokemon over there Gengar? Let's go after it and capture it!" Gaius exclaimed. He quickly ran about fifty feet down off the road into an open field. He could see tall, green, grassland dotted with small bushes and various flowers.
Gengar motioned for Gaius to keep walking, and then put his fingers to his mouth in almost a "shush" motion.
Gaius knelt behind a bush, and he saw a small, yet obese Pokemon. It had a blue body, a yellow patch on its stomach, yellow mouth, and points all over the bottom of its body and two points on top of its head. Gaius immediately recognized the Pokemon as one of the ones he had watched years ago online, as well as being the same Pokemon that he played with as a child. "That's a Munchlax, let's see what's going on Gengar," he whispered to his Pokemon. The Pokemon was in front of a young male trainer, who was a few inches shorter than Gaius, was wearing a blue shirt, baseball cap, and tan cargo shorts.A backpack was also slung over the boy's shoulders. The boy held a Pokeball in his hand and seemed to be commanding the Munchlax. . The young man had a sense of purpose about him, and a look of fierce determination was present on his face.
"Go Munchlax, use Ice Punch!" The young trainer yelled, commanding his Pokemon to attack. "I know we can beat Brandon this time, so give it your all!"
Gaius looked to the right of the boy and his Munchlax, and saw another young man, and another Pokemon. The second boy had a tan complexion, and was wearing a red shirt with long black pants. The young man had a slightly fit physique, with firm arms and a toned
The new Pokemon was a large chicken-like biped, with clawed hands, yellow-orange feet, a red body, and smooth, white, flowing hair on top of its head that reached halfway down its back. The Pokemon also had two points that protruded from its forehead, and had two yellow eyes on its face, below the points.
Gaius wasn't exactly sure what type of Pokemon this was, which was quite a surprise, as he had studied all of the Pokemon that could be found in this area of Kanto region. Perhaps this Pokemon was newly discovered, or perhaps its trainer was from another region and had brought this foreign Pokemon with him. Gaius slowly inched forward, trying to get a closer look. "I think this is a Pokemon battle, let's see what these Pokemon can do." Gaius told his Pokemon.
"Come' on, Blaziken, we've beaten Joey at least ten times before, I doubt this time will be any different." The second trainer, whose name apparently was Brandon, yelled to his Pokemon. "Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut. Launch it into the air and then follow it up with a devastating flamethrower attack!"
The bird-like Pokemon responded to his master's command. It quickly raced, almost too fast to be seen to the human eye, towards his small opponent. Blaziken leaned down and swiftly punched Munchlax in the gut, lifting it up several dozen feet in the air, causing the small Pokemon to flip end over end as it began to fall back towards the ground.
"Munchlax, don't let that attack rattle you, use Solar Beam on Blaziken before you hit the ground!" Joey yelled to his Pokemon, hoping it could carry out the attack before it was once again vulnerable to his opponent's Blaziken.
Munchlax stabilized his body about twenty feet from the ground, and a bright green beam shot from its mouth, aiming towards the fire Pokemon.
"Use your flamethrower now, Blaziken! Don't let that Solar Beam touch you!" Brandon shouted to his Pokemon.
Fire spurted out from the bird-like Pokemon's mouth, colliding with the Solar Beam attack in mid-air. A large explosion of smoke and dust resulted from the collision of the attacks, and neither Gaius, nor the Pokemons' trainers, could tell what had happened.
As the smoke cleared, Gaius could see Blaziken, slightly injured and breathing heavy, bending over trying to catch its breath. The Munchlax, however, was face down on the ground, and appeared to be knocked out.
"Munchlax, get up, you can do it!" Joey yelled to his Pokemon. "We need to beat Brandon at least once!"
"Sorry Joey, but that's never going to happen." Brandon chuckled, and grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, ready to recall his Pokemon. "I don't think your Munchlax has any strength left, you better recall it now before I actually have to hurt it beyond repair."
Joey sighed, and reached into his backpack, retrieving a small, yellow diamond-shaped object. "Munchlax, I'm going to make you all better, ok?" He then opened his Pokemon's mouth, and tossed the object inside. "I would have been able to beat you Brandon, if only I hadn't sent my prized Rattata to my cousin in Johto. He was in the top percentage of Rattata, and was the best Pokemon I ever had."
Within a few moments of eating the diamond-shaped item, Munchlax rose from the ground and smiled at its trainer. "Munchlax...Mun," the Pokemon said enthusiastically.
"Munchlax, return. I'm sure we'll get Brandon next time." The first trainer reached into his pocket, and pulled out a Pokeball. He pushed a button and the ball opened up, shooting out a red light that engulfed the blue Pokemon. The Pokemon then vanished and was sucked inside the ball.
With the battle now over, Gaius felt like it was the right time to reveal himself. He rose from behind the bush and approached the trainers. "Wow, that was a nice battle, and you have nice Pokemon, although I'm not sure I would have used Solar Beam on a fire type Pokemon, but that's just me."
"Who are you?" The pair of trainers asked Gaius simultaneously
"The name's Gaius, I come from the town of Pendragon, it's a bit north of here, though you probably have never heard of it. It doesn't get many visitors, except scientists."
"Oh, ok. Hi, Gaius. My name's Joey," The pale trainer replied, now looking down at the ground, as if he were ashamed of his actions in the battle. After a moment of looking at the new arrival, the shorter boy's eyes lit up and smiled at Gaius. "Wait, did you say your name was Gaius?" The trainer paused, as if he was contemplating something. After a moment of thinking, he began to speak again. "I knew a Gaius once, I think, a long time ago. Brandon and I went to a Pokemon-themed pre-school together and we always used to play with Gaius and a Munchlax there. After I turned ten, I went back to the pre-school and asked what they did with the old Pokemon that they didn't keep around anymore. They told me that they released the Munchlax into the wild, so I began to try and track him down. It took a few months, but I was able to find him. I battled the Munchlax with my Rattata and used Super Fang to whittle down its hit points enough for me to capture it. This is the same Munchlax as the one that Brandon and I played with when we were kids."
Gaius tilted his head as he looked at Joey and his small, blue colored Pokemon. After a few moments, memories began to filter back into Gaius's mind as his two friends stood in front of him. Although he had always remembered Munchlax, his friends on the other hand had slipped from his mind as the years went on. He had not seen them for over a decade, but it soon felt like he was back there with the two of them. The young trainer nodded and began to speak. "That was me, I'm Gaius Vi Britannia. You went to Poke-kids, right, that was the name of the preschool?"
Joey's smile widened as he listened to what Gaius had said. "Yeah, that was it, Poke-kids." The trainer paused and looked at Gaius. "Wow, I can't believe it's you, Gaius. I haven't seen you in forever. After the first year at Poke-kids you kind of just vanished, not even the teachers would tell us where you went. We just figured you moved or something. What happened to you man?"
Gaius prepared to respond, however Brandon quickly began to speak. "How are you?" The tan boy said enthusiastically. "Did you see my Blaziken kick Joey's butt in the battle? That's not really much of a surprise though, I always beat him and his silly Munchlax. To be honest, I thought about trying to go back and capture our old friend as well, but Joey beat me to it. Either way, I'm quite happy with my Blaziken. It's the fully evolved form of the Torchic that I had when we were kids. So, what do you think of my Pokemon?"
"Well..." Gaius thought for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Your Blaziken was nice, yes, but I'm sure my Pokemon could beat it without much trouble." Gaius sneered, waiting for a reaction. "The same could be said of your Munchlax, Joey. It is a powerful Pokemon, but with your poor choice in moves, I doubt it will ever be able to live up to its true potential. It should have an expert trainer that can help it be strong, not some pathetic Rattata-loving weakling like yourself." Both friends looked hurt and angry over Gaius' words, but Gaius preferred to always speak the truth, instead of masking honestly behind tact and lies.
"Now…why would you say something like that?" Joey shouted at Gaius. "I remember you being our friends, and friends aren't rude like that for no reason. What would ever possess you to be so cruel to someone who was once your best friend?" The young man looked down at the ground as he began to clench his fists. "Gaius...what ever happened to you? You, the old you, never said an unkind word at all."
Gaius shook his head and lightly laughed. "If you only knew what happened to me Joey. I didn't just drop off the face of the planet, you know. The reason I never came back for the next grade was that my mother died! As soon as she was gone, my father, who hated Pokemon, decided that I shouldn't be around Pokemon anymore as my mother was a Pokemon trainer. He forced me to go to business schools for years until I finally decided I had had enough of spending my time doing something which meant nothing to me. I decided to take my life into my own hands and left the school. My father himself passed away last month, which finally allowed me to live my own dreams of going out on a Pokemon journey. While the two of you were allowed to live your dreams starting at age ten, I was forced to waste most of my life!" Gaius sighed, and then glanced at Munchlax. "Joey, you said you captured that Munchlax when you were ten or so, right? I'm surprised that it hasn't evolved into a Snorlax by now. I only wish I had actually been able to capture it. At least then it would have been able to evolve."
Joey looked up at Gaius as the young Munchlax owner's eyes welled up with tears. "I'm…I'm really sorry all of that happened to you. I wish your mother didn't die, so that you'd still be able to follow your dreams like she wanted you to. I'm sorry your father was so harsh on you after she passed. You've had quite a hard life, and neither of us ever even knew about it. I wish we could have been there to help you, ya know. We all were the best of friends, and I hope that we can still be so. However, you can't keep being rude to people when you're frustrated or upset. Doing so will only push people away who are trying to help."
Gaius loudly laughed and placed his right hand onto his forehead. "You think I want your foolish pity or your useless sorrow? No amount of care or feelings can ever actually fix what happened. The only option for me is to move past it and strive to be the best that I can be, even if that means having to use weak trainers such as yourselves as stepping stones towards the Pokemon League. You two have been trainers for how many years now, right? Do you even have any badges, have you ever even been to the Pokemon League? It's sad to think that people who I used to regard so highly in my youth have become complete failures. Do you even have more than one Pokemon, or was your starter and Munchlax the only things you've been able to pick up?"
Joey slowly looked at Gaius and smiled, willing to test out his Pokemon in battle. "I bet I can take you on right now and wipe the floor with you and whatever Pokemon you have. You have no right to talk to anyone like that, especially someone who you used to think of as a friend!"
"Yeah," Brandon replied, "I bet Joey and I can beat you in a two on two battle. Two of your Pokemon versus one each of ours. Whoever wins has to admit that the other is a better trainer!"
Gaius mused the challenge for a moment, and then smiled gleefully. "I accept your challenge, the two of you versus me. However, I'll only need one Pokemon for this battle. If you can knock him out then I'll apologize to you both, agreed?"
The two young trainers looked at each other and then nodded. "I'll be sending my Munchlax, it should be all better with the revive I gave it earlier." Joey reached back into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball.
"I'll use my Blaziken, but I'm going to give it a Super Potion first to heal it up." Brandon reached on his belt and pulled off a small red and yellow spray bottle. He then slowly sprayed it all over Blaziken, until the battle wounds disappeared.
"A Fighting/Fire type, and Munchlax is a Normal-type Pokemon, right?" Gaius thought aloud. "Then I know just who to use...come forth, Gengar!"
Gaius' Gengar emerged from the bushes in which he had been hiding, and stood in front of his trainer. The ghost Pokemon quickly floated in zig-zag patterns around Blaziken and Munchlax, waiting their move or his trainer's command.
Gaius contemplated his situation, and then spoke. "Since I'm at a disadvantage, I'll make the first move. Gengar, use Shadow Ball on Blaziken!"
The ghost Pokemon weaved back and forth above the ground, circling the fire Pokemon. A black and purple ball started to grow between Gengar's hands until a large ball had formed. The Pokemon then quickly hurled the ball at Blaziken, striking it in the chest, causing the fire Pokemon to be knocked backwards.
"Go Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut on Gengar!" Brandon commanded.
The fire Pokemon ran in close to Gengar, and delivered a fierce punch of his fist to the ghost Pokemon. However, instead of the punch connecting, Blaziken's fist phased through the ghost Pokemon and left Gengar unscathed.
"Oh no! I forgot that Fighting type attacks don't work on Ghost Pokemon!" Brandon exclaimed. "Blaziken try a flamethrower attack, see if you can burn him up!"
"You're deluded if you think of yourself as a skilled trainer, Brandon. If you cannot even remember basic type effectiveness, you should go back to Poke-kids! Maybe they're take you back after all these years!" Gaius sneered, taunting his old friend. "Go Gengar, use Psychic on Blaziken!"
Joey, who had remained silent up to this point in the battle, finally decided to act. "Munchlax, use Rollout on that Gengar. That attack should still work, even though it's a ghost type," The young trainer commanded his Pokemon, as he watched the Gengar and Blaziken exchange blows.
Munchlax curled itself into a ball and started to spin rapidly on the ground, readying itself for a Rollout attack. After a few seconds of charging its attack, the Pokemon launched itself into the air, aimed directly at Gengar.
While Munchlax was flying in the air, Gengar's eyes glowed a bright blue, and Blaziken's body became outlined in a similar blue color. Gengar then lifted Blaziken off the ground and started to slam it repeatedly into the ground.
With Gengar distracted with Blaziken, Munchlax's attack was able to hit Gengar on the side of its body, causing the ghost Pokemon to lose its focus with the Psychic attack and Blaziken fell, damaged yet still conscious, to the ground.
Blaziken slowly stood up, and its body began to glow bright red.
"I think that's Blaziken's Blaze ability," Brandon yelled, overjoyed, "now all of his fire attacks do more damage! Blaziken keep going with Flamethrower!"
The blaze Pokemon began to gather fire in its mouth, which it then shot out in a bright red-orange stream towards Gengar. The attack hit Gengar directly on its face, damaging it greatly. After impact a small ring of fire encircled Gengar, which seemed to deal repeated amounts of damage every few seconds even after the Flamethrower subsided.
Gaius started to breathe faster as he watched his Pokemon endure two hits in a row, unsure of how he could successfully fend off two Pokemon at once with only one of his own. He could feel anger building inside him, as well as a strong fighting spirit that desired only to win. Suddenly, Gaius' eyes turned completely black, and a purple-black aura slowly surrounded him.
"Hey, Gaius, are you ok?" Joey asked, unsure of what had happened to his opponent. "If you're sick or something we can call off the battle, it's ok. I'll even forgive you for being mean to me earlier."
"Yeah, if something's wrong we can just stop battling, I don't mind either." Brandon chimed in, agreeing with his usual rival. "I wouldn't want to put you through a loss if you aren't feeling one-hundred percent."
"A loss?" Gaius asked, his voice dropping several octaves from his normal tone, becoming dark and ominous. "What makes you worthless fools think I'd ever lose to you? The both of you are no more than ants beneath my feet, and now it's time to grab the magnifying glass!" Gaius shrieked, with a mix of insanity and sheer joy. "Gengar, it's time to end this permanently. Use Psychic on both Blaziken and Munchlax. Slam them into each other until they are both unconscious. Use your Psychic attack to keep the trainers' mouths shut, as well, so they cannot issue commands."
Gengar turned around, looking at his trainer before performing the attack. He knew that using Pokemon attacks against humans was frowned upon, and was surprised to see this purple aura around his master again, the same kind he first witnessed when Gaius killed his father a few weeks prior. "What is this odd power master Gaius has," Gengar wondered to himself, "how can a normal human possess such extraordinary abilities?" The Pokemon waited, unsure of if he should follow his trainer's command.
"Gengar, follow my orders!" Gaius yelled, scolding the Ghost Pokemon. "Carry out my will or you shall once again feel immense pain and suffering by my hand. This is your only warning, from now until the end of time. Obey, or die, the choice is yours. I suggest you make it quick, I don't want to wait around much longer."
Gengar began to panic, as memories of the day of its captured continued to flow back into his mind. Gaius had severely hurt the ghost Pokemon on that day, more than any normal Pokemon attack ever could. Gengar had never been in so much pain its whole life, and had no wish to relive such a painful sensation. Gengar closed his eyes, and followed his master's orders.
Blue lines appeared first around Blaziken and Munchlax, and then around their trainers as well. Both opposing Pokemon were lifted off of the ground, and Gengar used his Psychic attack to cause them to collide repeatedly in the air. The attack continued for several minutes, while the Pokemon were repeatedly slammed into each other, until they both were near fainting.
During the attack, both Joey and Brandon were rendered helpless by Gengar's Psychic attack. Neither of them could speak, as they could not part their lips at all nor allow any words to escape their mouths. Both trainers were too stunned to even move or look away. "How could someone do this?" They thought, "is this even possible, is this even allowed for Pokemon to act like this?"
"Good, Gengar," Gaius said, praising his Pokemon's decision to comply with his orders, "I'm glad you came to your senses. I wouldn't want to have to replace you with someone else, although I will do so if it ever becomes necessary." Gaius then turned his attention towards the two trainers. "How does it feel to be helpless, to be unable to aid your Pokemon as you watch them get attacked over and over again? It must hurt, right? Well, fortunately for you, you won't have to live with it much longer. Or," Gaius paused, thinking of how to phrase his next sentence, "should I say, you won't have to live with anything much longer." Gaius stopped speaking for a moment, so he could witness the horror that grew in Joey and Brandon's eyes. "After you're gone, I'm going to take your Pokemon and their Pokeballs. They should not be doomed to failure at the hands of weak and pathetic trainers such as yourselves that will only hold them back and stunt their growth. I will make sure they are raised into powerful Pokemon, stronger than your wildest dreams. Gengar," he turned to his Pokemon, issuing a command, "I think Munchlax and Blaziken have had enough, release them. We don't want to kill them, we're going to acquire them, instead."
Gengar released his Psychic attack on the two Pokemon, both of which immediately fell to the ground, both completely knocked out. Gengar kept his lock on the two opposing trainers, however, as he knew Gaius did not order him to release them, only their Pokemon. Gengar began to worry if this was how his master was going to handle all off their Pokemon battles together. "Will Gaius always just use his strange abilities if he's starting to lose?" Gengar thought, "I wish I knew what was happening, and if there was any way to help him."
"Now, to finish off the two of you," Gaius cackled, musing at his options on how to kill the two trainers, "I could either have my Pokemon kill you with their attacks, I could snap your necks, or I could just destroy your bodies all at once, which would leave no evidence. Hmm," Gaius paused, as if he was trying to decide what he should eat for an everyday meal, "what am I in the mood for, this time? Last time I just faked a heart attack in my father, but this time I'm feeling a bit more...creative. I'm going to break every bone in each of your bodies, then I'm going to get rid of the evidence. Pooh, this is gonna be fun." He then addressed his Pokemon. "Gengar, keep your hold on them, I don't want their screams to draw any more playmates...er, people." Gaius laughed as the last word exited his mouth.
Gaius waved his hand, and dark auras appeared around both Joey and Brandon. Slowly, with each motion of his hand, Gaius could see another bone in each trainer's body break and twist inside them. He relished seeing his victims in pain, and wanted to extend this sensation as long as possible. Within a few minutes, the trainers' bodies looked grotesque and unrecognizable as human beings, with bones poking out where arms or ribs would normally be. "I think I've had enough fun for now, time to wrap it up."
When Gaius waved his hand once more, what once was the trainers' necks snapped, ending their lives. Gaius then closed his eyes and clenched his fist, causing both of his victims' bodies to seemingly vanish into the ground. After a few moments, Gaius' eyes returned to their normal blue-grey color, and he looked at the two Pokeballs on the ground.
"Hmm, I wonder what happened," Gaius could not remember how the battle had ended, but saw neither trainers in the area. "I wonder why Joey and Brandon took off. I know that I was a bit rude to them earlier and then we battled, but I have no idea why they would leave their Pokemon behind. Let's see if I can try and find out where they went. But, first, I need to recall their knocked out Pokemon. I guess I won the battle." He picked up both Pokeballs and started to recall Blaziken and Munchlax. However, when he looked towards the Pokemon, he saw Munchlax resting to regain his energy. Gaius recalled Blaziken into its Pokeball, but, when he turned to recall Munchlax, the Pokemon had woken from its rest and was nowhere to be seen.
"Great, where did Joey's Munchlax go?" Gaius thought aloud. He then quickly looked around and saw a small hole in the ground. "Hm, it must have used Dig to travel in the ground. Beldum, come out and dive into the hole, follow it until you find Munchlax. I'll follow from above on Dragonite." Gaius quickly recalled Gengar and threw Dragonite's Pokeball, and the large dragon Pokemon appeared. "I need to ride you so I can get a Munchlax back. Fly low and follow Beldum who's underground." Gaius jumped on Dragonite's back, held on tight, and commanded the Pokemon to take off.
After twenty minutes of following Beldum, Gaius came to a small wooded area with apple trees and various other fruits. He could see Munchlax trying to climb a tree to reach food at the top. "I guess he's hungry," Gaius thought, "I guess we may have to battle him to get him to come back into his Pokeball. I really wish we didn't have to, but, it may be the only way for us to recall him. Beldum, return to your Pokeball. Dragonite, you come back as well." Gaius was unsure which Pokemon would be best suited for this matchup, so he decided to hide and wait to see what Munchlax did.
The Pokemon tried to use its clawed hands and feet to pull himself up the branches, but kept falling down after a few seconds on the bark. After several unsuccessful attempts to climb the trees, the Pokemon began to ram his head into the tree trunks, in an effort to try and shake the fruit loose from the trees so that they fall within reach on the ground. After a few attempts at ramming into the trees, several fruit fell in front of the fat Pokemon, who then immediately started to consume them whole.
Gaius slowly approached the Pokemon, waiting for the right moment to strike. He knew he had to knock out the Pokemon quickly, before it could escape, although judging by the size of that Pokemon he could not get very far if he wanted to, even though he had managed to escape earlier, Gaius had the element of surprise on his side. Gaius readied Dragonite's Pokeball and threw it. "Go, Dragonite, use Dragon Tail!"
The dragon Pokemon quickly emerged from its Pokeball and swung its large tail towards the obese Pokemon. The attack hit the creature, but it quickly recovered.
"Munchlax! Mun!" The Pokemon yelled. As soon as it saw Gaius, a look of terror spread across its face, and it immediately looked around for an opportunity to flee. As soon as it saw the large dragon-type move towards him, he curled its body into a ball. He then started to spin his body, accelerating faster and faster, before finally launching himself at the dragon Pokemon.
"Dragonite, dodge and counter with Aqua Tail," Gaius shouted. "I thought it was a normal type, but it may be a rock type, since it seems to be using Rollout!"
The dragon Pokemon tried to fly out of the way of the oncoming attack, but Munchlax hit him in the middle of his chest. Dragonite winced in pain, but then swooped down once his opponent had landed and swung its tail, now covered in water, at the other Pokemon.
Munchlax appeared hurt, but started to wave his fingers back and forth. "Mun, Mun...lax, lax," he slowly spoke. Suddenly, a large beam of ice shot out from its mouth, heading right towards Dragonite.
Gaius paused for a second, lost in thought. "It seemed to be a rock type, but, now it can use Ice moves too. I've never heard of a Pokemon like that! It could be possible the hand gesture was some sort of ability that allowed him to use an ice attack, but think, what attack lets you use other attacks?" He quickly ran through the options in his head. "It's not mimic, and that wouldn't make sense since my Dragonite doesn't even know Ice beam. There's only one other move I can think of." Gaius calmed himself and readied his command.
"Dragonite, that Pokemon is using Metronome to access Ice Beam! Dodge now or you could be down for the count!" Gaius yelled to his flying Pokemon. "Get out of the way and finish it off with Hyper Beam!"
Dragonite nodded, and dipped down to try and avoid the Ice Beam attack. He flew low, but not low enough. The beam struck the edge of Dragonite's left wing, rendering it completely encased in ice. Dragonite started panting, feeling immense pain from even the glancing blow of the Ice Beam. He landed on the ground, now unable to fly or even dodge, but still willing to try and fight. Orbs of energy started to grow in Dragonite's mouth, as it prepared to unleash one of its most powerful attacks.
The obese Pokemon stood there, unsure of how to react or where to run, or if running was even a possibility from such an immense attack. He slowly turned around and tried to flee, but with his short legs and large body, he made it only mere feet before Dragonite attacked.
"Dragooo!" The dragon Pokemon shouted, as a wide yellow beam with orange streaks shot from its mouth, aimed directly at the fleeing Munchlax. The blast hit the Pokemon in the back, and continued after the obese Pokemon fell to the ground, leveling trees in its path for at least a hundred feet.
Munchlax slowly tried to rise off of the ground, but was too weak from the Hyper Beam attack to even move.
"Good job Dragonite, return!" Gaius shouted, praising his Pokemon for its success. "Now, you're mine!" Gaius reached into his belt and threw Muchlax's Pokeball. He then threw the Pokeball at the weakened Pokemon, and watched it get sucked inside. "Yes, Munchlax is now back in its Pokeball! Now the only thing to do is find Joey and Brandon." Gaius smiled wide, proud of his achievement, and, even more so, proud of his Dragonite.
Gaius safely stowed Blaziken and Munchlax's Pokeball in his backpack and then surveyed the area. 'I had to chase Munchlax for a while, so I don't know if the guys even went in the completely opposite direction as Munchlax did. The only real option I have is to backtrack to where I was battling them at, and then try to look for any clues.' The trainer looked towards his Dragonite, who was still panting and sweating from the force of the Ice Beam attack. 'I guess flying back there is out of the question, then.' He then recalled his injured Dragonite and let his Beldum out of its Pokeball so it could guide him back towards the battle site. After about twenty minutes of following underground path with Beldum's assistance, he found the clearing where the battle had taken place.
The trainer then looked around the area, trying to find any indication of where Joey or Brandon might have gone. Gaius could find no discernable trail to follow, no sign of a struggle or fight or any other sort of disturbance. Puzzled, the young man continued to search the area, fanning out in a circular pattern from the battle site, hoping that he would be able to find some clue or indication as to their whereabouts. The search continued for several hours as Gaius expanded his search radius again and again, but ultimately the search proved to be fruitless. 'I don't know where they could have gone, but I can't spend forever trying to find them. I'm sure that they'll turn up eventually, and, for the time being, I should probably just hold onto Munchlax and Blaziken until they turn up. I'm not sure exactly where they live or where they normally store their Pokemon, so hopefully I'll run into them sooner or later.' The trainer smiled as he opened his backpack and looked down at the two Pokeballs. 'Might as well get a move on, then.'
"Let's go guys, onto Pallet Town!" Gaius shouted gleefully. He checked his backpack and on his belt, ensuring that all of the Pokeballs were in place. He then began to walk in the direction of his next destination, hoping that new adventures awaited him along the way. The young trainer knew that although his first battle was a success, the road ahead would be fraught with increasing difficulty. He also knew that if he kept his faith in the strength of his Pokemon, he would never fail.