A Two Women Job

Cherrygrove City didn't seem like a very big place to most people, but to girls from small towns like Kris, it was one of the biggest places she had ever been to. Her mother's cancer prevented them from travelling, and Kris was amazed by the sights and sounds of the city.

Firstly, there were many more houses, and all were different shapes and sizes. Kris wanted to stand by and admire their structures and colours, but Chikorita kept running off, and Kris would have to chase after her. It would have been sensible to put her back in her PokeBall, but Kris wanted both of them to experience their world as much as possible. Besides, the two were bonding more, especially after making several captures over the past day.

Another thing Kris found interesting were the Pokemon Centre and the PokeMart. She healed up all of her Pokemon, and then went a splurged a bit on PokeBalls and Potions. Kris didn't think she would need all of the money, and decided to send some back to her mum, knowing she'd appreciate the kind gesture.

After nearly four hours inside the city, Kris and Chikorita were beginning to get a bit bored. There wasn't anything else special to keep them to the town, and both of them were ready to leave.

"This map mum gave me says to head towards Route 30." Kris said. She was kneeling on the ground, a large map of Johto out in front of her. She pointed a route out to Chikorita: up an inclining route, through grass, past trees and forests, before turning east towards Violet City.

"That's where the first Pokemon gym is." Kris said happily. "I forget which one it is, but I'll ask someone on the way."

"Rita Chika Chiko!" Chikorita replied, and began to head towards the route.

"Hang on a minute, I have to fold this up!" Kris cried. She roughly folded the map up into a small square, and then shoved it into a pocket in her jacket. Chikorita was eager to move, and Kris rushed towards her.

"We can go now, but don't run too far off!" Kris said.

"Chik." Chikorita said, and began to run along the rocky road. Kris chuckled and ran after, eyeing the patch of long grass nearby. Chikorita seemed to want to go inside as well, and Kris ran to make sure she didn't get lost inside.

"Don't go into the grass without me!" Kris shouted, but Chikorita dived head first into the grass, blending in perfectly. Kris cursed, and rushed after her. But she had barely put a foot into the grass when she heard a loud

"Ow, watch it!" Kris came to a halt, and let out an irritated sigh as she recognised the angry voice.

"Hello Gold." She snapped, and crossed her arms angrily. Gold leapt out from the grass, his cap and sunglasses askew. Chikorita and Totodile were both on the ground, growling and leering at each other.

"I figured that creature was yours." Gold huffed. "I was just sitting here, trying to find the PokeBall I dropped, and then that thing tackles me!"

"Good, that means all training we did last night to tackle vile things paid off." Kris smirked. Gold was stunned, and Kris pulled Chikorita away while he worked out what it mean.

"HEY!" He said finally. "I am not a 'vile' thing, I'm quite attractive by most standards." Kris and Chikorita both scoffed, and Gold and Totodile stared angrily at them.

"Beauty isn't important for Pokemon trainers." Kris explained. "You have to focus upon training and catching Pokemon, not your image."

"You say that, but have you even caught more Pokemon?" Gold teased.

"Of course I have!" Kris snapped. "I am thrice the trainer you'll ever be!"

"Don't use your fancy words on me!" Gold growled. "I challenge you to a two-on-two battle, right here, right now!"

"FINE!" Kris boomed, and Gold was taken aback by her anger. Kris turned and marched towards a rocky ledge behind her, and Chikorita followed after her. She then signalled to the space opposite, and Gold moved across to there, Totodile following behind.

"Shall we begin?" Kris asked.

"Certainly, and I'm going first this time." Gold said. "Totodile use Water Gun!"

"Razor Leaf, quickly now." Kris commanded.

"Toto To!" Totodile said. He opened his mouth wide and fired a ball of water. However Chikorita was much quicker. The leaf on her head spun around rapidly, quickly turning into a green blur. Smaller leaves than shot out, moving around the Water Gun and smashing into Totodile.

"Dile!" He squawked and rolled backwards. Chikorita smirked, and easily accepted the Water Gun, doing little damage. Gold growled, and Kris giggled with delight.

"Totodile get up and use Scratch." Gold ordered.

"Use that old favourite Growl." Kris smirked. Chikorita took a leap forwards, and released her painful growl. Totodile's face screwed up in pain, but he rushed forwards and struck Chikorita with his claws.

"You may think your clever, but I know what that move does now!" Gold sneered. "I went on the computer and read about it."

"Wow, you know how to use a computer." Kris laughed. Gold ignored the insult, though he blushed a bit.

"Totodile use Rage!" He roared. Totodile's eyes turned red, and he ran forwards, his right fist raised.

"Razor Leaf." Kris said, sounding slightly worried. Chikorita fired more leaves at Totodile, but he didn't let the pain show before punching her.

"Rita!" Chikorita cried, and rolled over. Totodile smiled and moved back towards Gold. His pupils were still glowing red, and it made him look purely evil.

"Be careful Chikorita, Rage builds power each time it strikes." Kris warned, and Chikorita nodded.

"Rage!" Gold cried.

"Razor Leaf!" Kris exclaimed. Both Pokemon initiated their previous attacks, but Totodile looked somehow stronger. He nearly stumbled when hit by the leaves, but persevered and rammed his fist into Chikorita's stomach, lifting her into the air.

"Chik!" Chikorita huffed as she landed. Kris gave her a reassuring pat, and noticed something Gold clearly hadn't. Totodile's red pupils were bigger, but he was looking incredibly weak. He was also looking a bit bluer, symbolising his Torrent had activated. Gold was too busy thinking he had the upper hand, but Kris has the type advantage and speed on her hand, and she smiled to herself.

"Finish this with Rage!" Gold boomed excitedly.

"One more Razor Leaf." Kris said. Totodile ran forwards, and leapt into the air, his fist raised once more.

"CHIKO!" Chikorita cried, and fired the Razor Leafs. Each one slammed into Totodile's stomach and face, causing him to spin in mid air.

"Toto Totodile!" He yelled, and fell to the ground with a splat, landing right in front of Chikorita. Gold moaned with anger, realising the first win had gone to Chikorita.

"Great job!" Kris said, and gave her a hug. Gold huffed as he brought Totodile back, but then smiled as he pulled out his next PokeBall.

"Let's see how you like this one!" He said nastily. "Spinarak, I choose you!" The PokeBall flew through the air and burst open. Red energy poured out, before forming into a small, green spider.

"Arak Spin!" Spinarak said, clicking his pincers together. Chikorita took a step backwards, repulsed by the creature.

"It's Bug and Poison, meaning Grass will no effect." Kris sighed. Gold could tell he had made the right choice, and gave the thumbs up to Spinarak.

"We can bring them down easily Spinarak. Start this off with a Poison Sting!"

"Get in there with Tackle!" Kris yelled. Both Pokemon nodded, and began to initiate their attacks. Chikorita ran forwards, slamming into Spinarak and forcing him backwards. But the spider quickly retaliated: his horn glowed purple, and a thin beam shot out. Chikorita cried out as she was pushed backwards. Suddenly, she glowed purple.

"Oh no, you've been poisoned!" Kris gasped. Chikorita tried to talk, but could only gurgle.

"Could job Spinarak, now use that String Shot attack." Gold said proudly. Kris was worried: Chikorita would lose health rapidly, and her most powerful move was weak against Spinarak.

"Try a Growl." She said at last. Chikorita stepped forwards weakly, and she let out her growl. Spinarak recoiled at this, before firing the thin, white, sticky string. It wrapped around Chikorita's legs, tying them together. Chikorita glowed purple again, but then her leaf glowed green.

"Overgrow won't help here." Kris sighed.

"Spinarak finish this with Poison Sting!" Gold yelled.

"Chikorita, please try your best and use Tackle." Kris pleaded.

"Spina Spinarak." Spinarak hissed, and scampered quickly across the field. The String Shot was slowing Chikorita down, and there was no way she would hit before Spinarak got there. The face pattern on Spinarak's back smiled, and then the spider fired an up-close Poison Sting.

"Chi-" Was all Chikorita could manage, before she keeled over, unconscious. Kris let out a moan of despair, and quickly brought Chikorita back. Gold danced on the spot, and Spinarak raced happily in circles as well.

"We won, we won, we won!" Gold said happily. Kris' sadness quickly evaporated and she smiled.

"I still have one Pokemon left, moron." She laughed, and swapped Chikorita's PokeBall for another. Gold and Spinarak stopped dancing, and both their faces turned to shock.

"Fine then, send it out." Gold sniffed. "But I am still going to win!"

"Not likely." Kris scoffed. "Hoothoot, make this fast and easy!" The PokeBall flew up into the sky, where it burst open. The red energy came out, and formed into a Hoothoot, the pre-evolution of Noctowl. Kris had found one the previous night, and couldn't have helped but thought of her mother when she caught it. Gold looked up at it, but wasn't quite making the connection about type.

"It may be high in the sky, but that won't stop us! Spinarak use String Shot!"

"Let's take a risk and try Hypnosis." Kris called.

"Hoot Hoot Hoot!" Hoothoot called, and her eyes flashed pink. Spinarak waited to be put to sleep, but his eyes glowed blue, knocking aside the Hypnosis.

"His ability must be Insomnia." Kris cursed.

"What does that do?" Gold asked. Spinarak shot the String Shot, but Hoothoot twirled and avoided it.

"Insomnia means it can't fall asleep." Kris groaned, unable to take any more of Gold's stupidity.

"Oh cool!" Gold said happily. "Ok then, let's try Scary Face."

"Get in there and Peck!" Kris cried. Hoothoot dived down, her beak glowing white. Spinarak tried to run, but Hoothoot smashed into his back, slamming him to the ground. Angry, the face on Spinarak's face glowed black, and then let out a roar.
"Hoot!" Hoothoot cried, and flew backwards in shock.

"Great work!" Gold said happily. "Now let's stop it from flying away by using Constrict."

"Hoothoot use Tackle before he grabs hold of you." Kris ordered quickly. Hoothoot nodded, and dived down again. She was uncertain about going near him again, and slowed down a bit. But Hoothoot checked Kris' anxious face, and swooped down with new determination. Sh bashed into Spinarak, sending him flying.

"Spin!" He said, and fired out his legs. Hoothoot gasped as the legs wrapped around her, squeezing her and dragging her down towards the ground. Spinarak was now joined to her, and Kris cursed angrily.

"This is going great!" Gold yelled with joy. "Poison Sting her now!" Hoothoot was feeling even more anxious about attacking now that Spinarak was joined to her, giving Spinarak a chance to fire the purple sting. But luckily, Hoothoot didn't get poisoned, and Kris beamed happily.

"Peck him!" She shouted. Hoothoot swirled around inside the legs, and then pecked Spinarak's underbelly. The spider retaliated by tightening his legs, causing Hoothoot more pain.

"Slow her down with String Shot again!" Gold shouted.

"Tackle him to the ground, use Constrict against him." She shouted. Spinarak fired out some string, wrapping around Hoothoot's middle.

"Oot!" Hoothoot said, and fell down backwards. Spinarak clicked his mandibles together in fright and watched the ground come closer. Kris and Gold both watched in anticipation as the two Pokemon spun in mid air. They fell surprisingly fast, and smacked into the ground with a thud and squish. Dust rose up, covering the two, and both trainers ran forwards to see what had happened.
Spinarak was lying squashed beneath Hoothoot, his legs outstretched and his eyes shut. Gold collapsed to the ground in shock, while Hoothoot flew into Kris' arms.

"Hoot!" She cried.

"That was brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Kris exclaimed, and kissed Hoothoot on the cheek. Gold sighed and brought Spinarak back.

"Guess you are doing better than me." He huffed, and dropped the winnings on the ground.

"You did alright yourself." Kris said approvingly. Gold nodded, and then turned and ran towards Cherrygrove.

"Hoot?" Hoothoot asked.

"Going to heal his Pokemon, I guess." Kris suggested. "I'd better go heal mine as well, let's go!" Hoothoot nodded, and the two moved after Gold back towards the city.

After passing her Pokemon over to the nurse, Kris turned around to find a place to sit. And, as she expected, Gold was sitting at the back, arms crossed and a pout on his face. Kris smirked to herself and walked over.

"You look like you've had your toys taken off you." She said. Gold looked up angrily.

"I am just annoyed about being beaten twice in a row."

"Oh suck it up." Kris groaned. "I am going to beat you more times, and you can just deal with it." Gold scoffed and muttered 'unlikely'. Kris sat down in the seat opposite and crossed her legs. The two rivals stared at each for a few moments, before Kris finally decided to speak.

"You never answered my question yesterday."

"Which one?" Gold asked in surprise.

"I asked you why you signed up." Kris replied. "And you never gave me a solid answer." Gold nodded as he remembered, and then stared at her seriously.

"My parents are famous for running a few businesses, going to parties and having lots of kids." He explained. "And I have become well known because of that. But my father, our fathers, use to be famous battlers." Kris was scowling at him, so Gold quickly changed course. "I want to be famous for doing my own thing, so I want to beat my father's record and become the top trainer in the region. Then I'll have something worth being famous for."

"You're doing this for fame?" Kris said in shock. Gold stood up and shrugged, adjusting his cap and putting his sunglasses on.

"You may think you're doing this for you're mum, but I know you want the fame as well." He said. "That's the trouble with being the daughter of two champions." And with a triumphant smirk, Gold walked towards the counter. Kris couldn't think of anything to say, and simply gave him the finger.

"Arrogant prick." She hissed. But she couldn't help thinking he had a point. Once Kris defeated the first gym, there will soon the connection between her and her parents, and there would be a lot of pressure on her. Gold waved evilly at her as he left the building, and Kris knew she didn't have to worry about that pressure.

All she had to worry about was defeating Gold.