**Thanks again to Joe P. and Sam S. for their contributions to this amazing story. The story of Tom Ato would not exist without you. Continue the Karp Fest!**
Tom continued to walk down Route 312 to Hard Rock City, and Magikarp continued to flop around in the backpack. After walking down the path for quite a while, he turned when he heard a twig snap. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the grass. Tom paused and grabbed Abra's PokeBall, ready for battle.
'Wait, what am I getting worked up for?' he thought, watching the tall grass to his right warily. 'I wouldn't be able to battle and catch it, anyway, with Abra and... Magikarp.' The grass rustled again and, despite knowing his pitiful circumstances, Tom paused. He felt his spirits rise again and he felt the same surge of excitement he'd had when his mother had told him he could finally be a Pokemon trainer four years after all of his friends had left. He grinned when a small, green Caterpie scuttled out of the tall grass.
"Pie?" It seemed surprised that he had stopped walking, and it tried to flee back into the grass.
'Maybe... I can try to catch it,' he told himself, readying a PokeBall. He threw it at the bug Pokemon and held his breath. The PokeBall opened up to let Caterpie in, and it wriggled a little, then stopped moving. Tom bent to pick it up, but it began to squirm once more. One... two... three! Caterpie was caught! Tom smiled; for the second time since he had met Magikarp he had hope. He laughed and picked up the PokeBall.
"Now to meet my new Pokemon!" he said happily.
"K-karp." Magikarp flopped around in the backpack and turned away from Tom.
"Ha!" He tossed the PokeBall across the dirt path and in a flash of light, Caterpie appeared. It looked curiously up at Tom. "Welcome to the party!" He held out his hand to the bug. Caterpie glanced at his outstretched hand and blinked its big black eyes at Tom, then it stood up to its full height.
"Pie. Cat-er-pie." Tom furrowed his brow as he watched his new Pokemon.
"Caterpie... you okay?" he asked, kneeling down in the dirt further. Caterpie began to cover itself with a white goop that flowed from its mouth. Tom shook his head and tried to stop the Pokemon. "No! No! NOT YET! I NEED YOU!" But it was too late. Tom looked down at his new Pokemon.
"Congratulations!" a voice exclaimed from somewhere above Tom. "Your Caterpie evolved into Metapod!" He wrapped his arms around the cocoon and tilted his head towards the heavens. He let out a raspy gasp for breath and screamed, possibly louder than he ever had before.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Magikarp turned back to face Tom, its whiskers raised in a creepy smile.
"K-karp, k-k-karp."
"ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME?" Tom yelled, the vein in his forehead pulsating again.
"Karp."
"Whatever. Let's just go." Tom recalled Metapod, and he and his team walked off into the sunset.
The next day was hard, and Tom had no luck at all. He sat moodily by Lake Placid and watched the furious Gyaradoses chase after and eat the Ninjasks that flew around the lake. Occasionally he would glance up into the trees to try to spot another Pokemon he could catch, maybe a Pidgey. Since this approach didn't seem to be working, he got off his high rock and started down Route 312 again.
"Well, I guess I should train the Pokemon I have. Maybe they'll become stronger if I do that. Get out of the frickin' bag, Magikarp. Let's go."
"Karp... karp... karp."
"First of all, you're going to learn how to swim, you piece of shit."
"KARP!" Magikarp flopped up into the air and landed on Tom's head, then began smacking him with its tail fin.
"Get off!" Tom grabbed the fish and launched it into the water. "Move that stupid tail of yours and try to float."
"Karp... karp... kwarp... warp... arp... rrrr..." Bubbles began to rise to the surface and Tom reached into the water to grab the pathetic fish Pokemon.
Three days later, Tom woke up and turned to look at the lake. Magikarp was weakly paddling around in the shallow water, occasionally flopping over and floating on its side in exhaustion.
"Karp karp."
"Oh my god! Magikarp, you're a fish! You can swim!" Tom shouted in shock, blinking in the bright sunlight.
"Karp karp."
"Don't look so smug. You still suck."
"Karp." Magikarp burst out of the water and slammed into Tom.
"Ow, that fucking hurt!" Tom complained as strange music began to play in the background. "Where's that coming from?"
"Karp, karp?" It took Tom a few minutes to realize that Magikarp had learned Tackle. After the idiotic song had finally stopped playing, Tom laughed at the fact that he finally had a Pokemon that knew how to attack. He needed to train his other Pokemon so he wouldn't have to depend on Magikarp.
"Okay, come out here, Metapod." It glared at Tom with one eye and maintained its silence.
"Karp."
"Magikarp, use Tackle on Metapod, and Metapod, use Harden!"
"Karp... karp!" Magikarp smashed into Metapod.
"Magikarp is unable to battle," a voice announced.
"Where the fuck is that coming from?" Tom turned around toward the sound of the voice and, upon seeing no one, shrugged. "Damn it, Magikarp. You lost by attacking! You learned TACKLE, not Take Down, you dim-wit. How's this going to work?"
"Karp."
Another day passed before Magikarp learned how to Tackle without knocking itself out. Not all was lost, however. Metapod, the quiet but stuck-up Pokemon, still knew String Shot, and this meant great things for Tom's team. He enjoyed spending time with his Pokemon, and with his newfound confidence he felt he could become strong... or still suck.
In the middle of a heated battle between motionless Metapod and sleeping Abra, something wandered into the clearing and started watching Tom and his Pokemon cautiously. Tom ordered for Metapod to use String Shot on Abra as it teleported around the area at the same time that the intruder stepped out of the trees.
"I'm not even going to ask where the string comes from..." Tom commented, laughing as sticky white string covered Abra and cemented it to the ground.
"Psy... duck duck." Tom didn't notice the new Pokemon and Magikarp was chilling out in the water, watching the battle on the shore. "Psy?" Psyduck walked over to Tom's backpack while watching the battle to make sure the human wouldn't notice its arrival. It picked up one of Tom's empty PokeBalls and bit into it.
"Karp!" Magikarp saw Psyduck and used Tackle to stop the thief. The PokeBall flew out of Psyduck's mouth and hit Tom in the back of the head.
"What the fu..."
"Karp!"
"The wild Psyduck is unable to battle!" the mysterious voice yelled, and this time Tom didn't care where it was coming from. His attention was focused on the scratched up Psyduck laying sadly in the dirt.
"Oh my god! A real Pokemon!" Tom screamed, grabbing an empty PokeBall off of his magnetic belt. It hit Psyduck in the head and opened up. One... two... three! The annoying music started playing behind Tom again. Psyduck was caught! "YES! Come on out!" Tom turned on his PokeDex and found out that Psyduck knew Tackle, Frustration, Water Gun, and Bind. As he started reading the other information recorded about Psyduck, the yellow Pokemon started coughing.
"Karp? Magi-magi-karp!"
"Oh, great. I got the sick one. Of course I did," Tom grumbled, returning the PokeDex to his pocket.
"Duck... Duck..." Psyduck coughed, its eyes bulging in its head. Magikarp used Tackle on Psyduck again, and this time again something small and silver flew out of its mouth. It hit Abra in the head and landed in front of it. Before Tom could call to it, Abra picked up the item and began to glow. The music started playing behind Tom again.
"Abra learned Hidden Power!" the voice shouted, and Tom picked up a rock and threw it in the direction it was coming from.
"I guess that was a TM," Tom said, deciding he would ignore the music and voice from now on. "Well, welcome to the group of losers, Psyduck."
"Duck?" It shot a stream of water at Tom and sent him crashing into a tree.
"Karp karp karp."
"I guess you think this is funny," Tom hissed angrily as Magikarp continued laughing. "I'm tired of being here, so it's time to go get a badge!"
"Karp karp!"
"I hear you. But first, let's see Abra's new move. Abra, use Hidden Power on that tree over there!" Abra raised its left hand, and a flash of energy shot out of it and blasted into the tree. Tom was pleased at all of the progress they had made over the past few days, but he still knew that his Pokemon sucked Ultra Balls.
The walk back to Hard Rock City was fun now that he had more Pokemon, all of which walked along with Tom, except for the lazy Abra. He was challenged by two trainers along the way: one trainer had a Charmander and a Vulpix, and the other had a Ditto (Magikarp barely won that battle). Tom won both and walked away with over ¥2,000 total. Tom found the Pokemon Center again, wanting only to rest up for the battle at the gym the next day. As he walked out of the building and started looking for a cheap motel, Tom saw Jack coming toward him. Jack glanced at the new PokeBalls attached to Tom's belt and grinned.
"I see that fish of yours can do something after all," he teased, showing off his collection of four PokeBalls.
"I'll show you!" Tom yelled, grabbing his first PokeBall.
"Are you challenging me?" Jack laughed, a bag of coins clanking in his pocket. Obviously Jack had been winning a lot more battles than Tom had.
"Yes. Bring it on," Tom answered flatly as they started walking away from the building and into an open area at the edge of the city.
"Fine, we'll go three-on-three," Jack yelled, tossing a PokeBall onto the battlefield. "Come on out, Mudkip!"
"Abra, work your magic!"
"Karp, karp!"
"Not you!" Tom called, but it was too late. He returned Abra to its PokeBall. "Fine, I guess you can fight."
"Mudkip, use Water Gun!" Jack beamed as a powerful stream of water flowed out of its mouth.
"Use Splash!"
"Karp karp Magikarp!" Mudkip's attack missed and flooded the area, allowing Magikarp to flop in actual water instead of dirt.
"Follow up with Hyperbeam! Never mind, just use Tackle!"
"ARGH! Mudkip, use Mud-Slap!" Jack raged as his hopes of having a completely attack-less opponent dissolved.
"Tackle again, Magikarp!" It slammed into Mudkip and splashed up and down in victory.
"Mudkip is unable to battle!" the voice called from the sky.
"Return, Mudkip! Go, Spearow! Use Peck!"
"Magikarp, use Tackle again!" Magikarp let out a gasp of terror as it soared through the air and into Tom's arms. "You're such a drama queen."
"K... arp."
"Magikarp is unable to battle!"
"Good job, Magikarp. Go sit over there for a few minutes since you refuse to return to your PokeBall... Let's try this again, Abra!"
"Spearow, use Wing Attack!"
"Abra, use Teleport, then counter with Hidden Power!" Tom screamed as Abra disappeared and materialized at random spots on the battlefield.
"Keep after it with Quick Attack!"
"Use Teleport again!" But Abra wasn't fast enough; Spearow knocked it off of the rock it was sitting on and Abra dropped into the grass off to the side. Tom walked toward it and returned it to its PokeBall.
"Abra is unable to battle!"
"I KNOW! Shit, I guess you're my last hope, Psyduck. Go!"
"Duck, du-ck," it coughed, much to Jack's amusement.
"Ha ha ha! You're using that pathetic thing? How sad!"
"Psyduck, use Water Gun!"
"Use Double Team, Spearow!"
"Psyduck, you have to hit it! Use Frustration, followed by Tackle!" Spearow gave a small chirp before it was knocked out of the air.
"Spearow is unable to battle!"
"Fine, your turn, Pichu! Use Spark!"
"Damn. Psyduck, use Bind, but hold the energy!"
"Psy-aii-aii-duck! Psy-aii-aii!" Pichu's attack hit Psyduck, but it did damage to both Pokemon.
"Now use Quick Attack, Pichu!" Jack smiled; he knew it was over.
"Use Frustation, Psyduck!"
"Duck?"
"Psyduck is unable to battle! Trainer Jack wins the battle!"
"Ha ha ha, why didn't you use Water Gun, you idiot?" Jack teased as he returned his cheering Pichu to its PokeBall. "That was a good fight, though. Seems like your pathetic Magikarp finally got a little stronger." Jack stuck out his tongue and walked back to the Pokemon Center, and Tom followed a short time later. He healed his Pokemon and ran back into the forest. He sat on a tree trunk and stared into the darkness.
"Well, we did okay, but not great. At least we're getting better," he muttered to himself as Magikarp flopped around in his lap.
"Karp, karp."
"You did great for a piece of shit," Tom said, laughing at the fish's expressionless face.
"Karp karp karp."
"Tomorrow we'll be fighting Kevin, the gym leader at the Rock Hard Gym in Hard Rock City. Come on out, all of you. Metapod, you're a punching bag, so I'm going to make you one. See that tree? Use String Shot to latch onto one of the branches and use Harden as many times as you can; then Magikarp, Psyduck, and Abra will hit you. Got it?" Metapod glared at Tom with one eye, then carried out its trainer's orders. Although it seemed mean, Tom's plan worked out great. They continued training even after the sun had set, until Tom felt they were ready to take on Kevin the next day.
"KARP!"
"Magikarp, use Tackle again!" Metapod released a purple powder all over Magikarp that caused the Pokemon to pause and shudder in pain. Tom checked his PokeDex, which showed that Metapod had learned Poison Powder.
"KARP! KARP!"
"Alright, good job everyone. Let's stop training for tonight and go find somewhere to sleep." Tom led his team back to Hard Rock City and healed them at the Pokemon Center, then paid for a room at a nearby motel. He couldn't wait until the next day.
At daybreak Tom rushed over to the Rock Hard Gym to challenge Kevin. The gym leader was late and reluctant to accept Tom's challenge, but after four hours of pleas and threats the guards finally let him into the gym. Kevin took out his first PokeBall and tossed it into the arena lazily, sure that he would win.
"Go, Geodude. Let's get this over with, kid."
"Go, Abra!"
"Let the battle begin!" the announcer called, waving green flags toward both trainers.
"Geodude, use Rock Smash."
"Use Teleport, Abra! Then use Hidden Power!" The battle went on for some time: the slow Geodude tried to attack and Abra fled whenever it got close, then it used Hidden Power, which did almost no damage to Geodude.
"Keeping playing tag with it, Geodude."
"Dude."
"Use Hidden Power one more time!"
"Geodude is... finally... unable to battle!"
"Fine. Go, Nosepass." Kevin was still bored out of his mind, and he struggled to stay awake as the battle continued.
"Abra, use Hidden Power!"
"Nosepass, use Rock Slide." Abra didn't move in time and was crushed under the pile of rocks.
"Abra is able to battle!"
"Shut up, dude! Go, Magikarp! Use Tackle!" Nosepass was sent flying into the pile of rocks, and several loose boulders landed on top of it and pounded it into the ground.
"Nosepass is unable to battle?" The announcer glanced over at the fallen Pokemon again and shrugged before raising his red flag.
"How the hell did that happen?" Kevin asked, angry that he'd been disturbed when he was so close to sleep.
"Heh, yeah. I'm great, I know." Magikarp splashed dirt up into Tom's face.
"Karp!"
"Fine! You're the greatest, just STOP IT!" Tom fumed, kicking dirt back at Magikarp. "Always so smug, huh?"
"Karp! Magi-magi-karp!"
"Whatever. Here's my last one. Go, Onix! Take this loser down."
"Come back, Magikarp. Go, Metapod!" From here the battle went very slowly, with Metapod slowing Onix down with String Shot and eventually poisoning it. (After nearly an hour, Onix managed to beat the shit out of Metapod. What did you think would happen?)
"Metapod is... thank GOD... finally unable to battle!"
"Alright! Go, Psyduck! Use Water Gun!" Onix watched in terror as the stream of water flew through the air. Suddenly...
"Onix is unable to battle! Pokemon Trainer Tom won the battle!" Kevin scowled and returned Onix to its PokeBall.
"That was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen! I can't believe I lost to you! Don't use Tackle on a rock Pokemon, you imbecile!"
"Psy? Psy-aii-aii-duck!" Kevin glowered at Psyduck and walked over to Tom, then handed him his first badge.
"This is the Dirt Clod Badge. You can now use Cut outside of battle. Good luck finding the HM 951, though."
"Psy-aii-aii-aii-aii-aii-duck!" Psyduck jumped up and grabbed the badge and... swallowed it.
"NOOOOOOO! Give it b-aaaack!" Tom began stomping up and down like a five-year-old and pounded Psyduck on top of the head.
"Psyduck is unable to battle!" the announcer shouted, waving a red flag in Tom's direction.
"Shut up! The battle ended five minutes ago!"
"Security, please escort this FREAK out of my gym."
