Gabriel Stone worked his way along the road northward from Viridian City. He had checked out the Gym in the City, yet for some reason it was closed. When he had read it the sign simply said, "Closed for maintenance". Yet from what Gabriel could see the building was fine. Of course the interior might not have been.
Oh well, he would come back to it later. Kanto worked like a circle, follow the path and eventually you'll go through all the gyms and wind up back at Viridian City.
That meant Pewter City was the first gym. It was full of Rock types from what Gabriel had heard. That was lovely… His Cyndaquil was going to have a rough time…
His Gastly however… that was another story. It was a very powerful Gastly. He knew his Cyndaquil was stronger than it, but it lacked the types that Gastly had.
Yeah, he would be fine, he was sure of it.
He'd battled a total of seven trainers and only lost to one of them. That kid had thrown out an Alakazam and its high level swept the floor with Gabriel. He wondered why someone with such a high leveled Pokémon would be out here… it definitely confused him.
It wasn't important though, it was the past, and Gabriel had to keep moving forward.
His got lost in his thoughts, not noticing the forest getting denser and denser as he continued northward. At least, not until he hit something that was up to his pelvis area.
He came back to reality and looked down at what hit him. It was a sign which read "Now Entering Viridian Forest".
He'd already reached Viridian Forest? How long had he been walking? It had seemed like only a few minutes to him…
Oh well, it was convenient for him. Just continue along and he'll reach Pewter in no time at all.
He kept forward, trying not to make any wrong turns so that he ended up going in the wrong direction. You would think they would make a trail, yet of course they wouldn't. Why would they? That would make the trip easier for him, and lord forbid his trip be easy.
He hadn't seen any trainers oddly enough, yet he had run into countless wild Pokémon which he easily dispatched. None of them really appealed to him as he wasn't a big fan of bug Pokémon, he always thought them to be creepy. Not in a scary way, but a disgusting way.
Besides, what he really wanted to get was a Sandshrew. He had seen a Sandslash in an online video and was amazed at what it could do. He wanted to get his own and make it even stronger than the one he saw in that video.
Another thing he didn't want was any overlapping types. All the Weedles he found were part Poison type, and as such they shared a type with his Gastly. That wouldn't go well, so after seeing all the negatives he scratched the Bug type off his list.
Maybe a Dragon… he knew that was a very powerful type… He shrugged it off, he would catch as he goes, he wouldn't aim for anything specific other than the Sandshrew, he'd just keep tabs on types NOT to get…
He ran into one trainer along the way, but he was a bug maniac, so Cyndaquil swept the floor with him. The guys strongest Pokémon, a Beedrill, was the only one that put up a fight, yet still Cyndaquil handled it with ease.
This wasn't good training for the gym. He had heard the Gym Leader used Rock Types so Cyndaquil would suffer, yet training against opponents that he outmatched heavily in both level and type didn't help him in learning how to handle opponents who had advantages over him…
He was actually hoping to see Anthony again. Anthony's Tentacool would be a good opponent for Cyndaquil again…
He continued northward through the forest, getting ever closer to the Pewter City, battling all the wild Pokémon he could find so his Cyndaquil and Gastly could get stronger before the gym, yet he was stuck still. His Pokémon were too strong to benefit from the experience these Pokémon gave him…
He hadn't seen any more trainers either, which seriously confused him. He had thought there would be a much larger amount of bug fans hanging out in the forest…
He had a strange feeling though… like he was being watched… he couldn't shrug off the feeling, and caught himself looking over his shoulders countless times. How much longer until he got out of this forest? It seemed like it went on forever, and it was freaking him out.
He wasn't exactly scared, but worried he'd gotten lost and now was heading in the completely wrong direction…
Oh well, that was where the adventure was. Besides, this wouldn't be a fun trip if he just walked the circle of Kanto and didn't get lost a few times.
He continued in one direction, praying it was north. He climbed a tree to see if he could see anything, and of course all he could see were trees.
He climbed back down and sighed. He continued in his original direction, hoping that the trees would eventually end.
He came to a stop for the day after a few more hours. He set up camp, having Cyndaquil start a fire and cooking some food he bought back in Viridian.
So. His first night alone in the field. How bad could it be? If he was heading in the right direction then Pewter shouldn't be far ahead, and there rested his first badge.
It was a predominantly Rock type gym, so he knew Cyndaquil would have a rough time. He took out his PDA to look up tips but there was no signal where he was.
Oh well, he could check it when he reached Pewter, he was bound to get a signal when he got there…
He put his PDA up and got into his sleeping bag, hoping nothing would jump him while he was asleep.
Gabriel opened his eyes to the new day. Cyndaquil was asleep next to him, and the sun shined above the tree line.
He sat up and stretched, letting out a long yawn before scratching his head. He checked his bag to make sure nothing had gotten into it, and sure enough it was untouched.
Lucky him. He packed his stuff up and recalled Cyndaquil into his Pokéball. He put the ball on his waist and started out in the direction that, from what he could tell by the location of the sun in the sky, was north.
He headed in that direction, but it didn't take him long to hear a voice call his name from nearby.
He knew who it was the instant he heard his name. Masculine, a hint of arrogance, and a scent of uncaring hatred.
Yep, definitely Anthony Jackson. He'd already caught up to him? He must have slept too long… at least he now knew that he was heading in the right direction.
He heard his name get called again and he looked behind him to see Anthony and Nicole walking in his direction, "Hey Gabriel! What are the chances we would run into you here of all places?"
"Slim to none," Gabriel replied. Just his luck, he had to run into Anthony of all people. He looked over to Nicole and saw she was still upset with him and avoided eye contact with him completely.
Gabriel gave a mental sigh, but he was certain she would come back around… "You heading to Pewter?" Gabriel asked.
"Yeah," Anthony replied.
"So that means I am heading in the right direction?"
"What, got lost already?"
"Apparently not otherwise I wouldn't have run into you guys. Unless you're lost too."
"No, we're on the right track."
"Well… umm… can I… stick with you guys until we get out of this forest? I seriously don't want to get lost…"
"Oh? So now you want to travel with us?" Nicole snapped.
"Well, just temporarily," Gabriel regretted that the instant he said it.
"Oh, so we're just tools for your comfort."
"I never said that."
"Yeah but you were thinking it."
"Look, I want, no, need to do this on my own. Sure I might need a bit of help at times, but… this is my thing."
"And if it weren't for me then you would have never started this 'thing'."
Gabriel could tell this was getting nowhere. "Come on, I'll never ask for this again. It's just… this forest…"
"What? Are you scared Gabriel? It's just a bunch of trees," Anthony said, finally waking up.
"No. I just… don't wanna get lost…"
"Battle me, and then sure… you can join us."
"Do I need to win?"
"Depends, how many Pokémon do you have? Still one?"
"Two…"
"Oh… impressive. Alright, beat at least one of my Pokémon and you can join."
"Alright, your move Anthony…"
"Alright, go Houndour!"
"Oh, I knew this one was coming," Gabriel grinned, he had to think this through, Houndour was part Dark type, so it would have an advantage over Gastly… and he was banking on Anthony having Tentacool be his second choice, so he might as well use Cyndaquil now…
"Alright, Cyndaquil, let's do this," he released his Cyndaquil and the flames on his back instantly lit, "Swift attack!"
"Houndour… take it and then Flame Thrower!" the Swift attack hit Houndour, causing it to shut its eyes in pain, yet the instant it stopped it shot its flamethrower directly at Gabriel.
"Stop it with your own Flamethrower!" Gabriel yelled to Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil fired at the last possible moment, and actually seemed to be gaining the upper hand in the flamethrower war, which was due to its higher level and higher stats compared to Houndour.
"Houndour, charge and use bite!" Houndour broke the flamethrower, and got hit by Cyndaquil's yet despite doing a bit of damage this did not stop Houndour from jumping at Cyndaquil.
"Smokescreen!" Gabriel yelled to Cyndaquil, who instantly obeyed.
Cyndaquil then jumped out of the way and Houndour was none the wiser, landing right in front of where Cyndaquil used to be and biting thin air.
"Swift again!"
Houndour was blasted from the side by the Swift, and Gabriel yelled, "Jump over it and flamethrower!"
"Wait!" Anthony called out, "Houndour surrenders…" he recalled his Pokémon.
"Oh, so I guess I win, and I get to go with you two after all…" Gabriel grinned and was about to recall Cyndaquil.
"Yeah, but this isn't over, this is a 2v2."
"Cyndaquil, return," he held out Cyndaquil's Pokéball and recalled him saying, "I might use him if this guy loses, but that won't happen."
"Yeah, just press your luck Gabriel, try me. Alright, take this home Tentacool!"
Gabriel watched Tentacool be released and he said, "Alright, let's end this Gastly…" he didn't put any effort into saying it, and he simply dropped the Pokéball and Gastly was released.
"Bubble Beam!"
"Night Shade."
The two attacks collided, and Gabriel realized Tentacool was stronger than Gastly, as the Bubble Beam quickly began to overcome the Night Shade.
"Gastly, move and use Hypnosis!"
"Tentacool, look away!"
Tentacool turned completely around and Gabriel yelled, "Night Shade!"
Tentacool was hit directly in the back, unable to guard itself, and having limited maneuverability on the ground.
Tentacool was smashed down to the ground, yet it got back up, "Another Night Shade!"
"Quick Tentacool! Use your tentacles to jump yourself into the air!"
Tentacool did as commanded, and managed to jump so high that it was even above Gastly.
"Now Bubble Beam!"
It all happened so fast that neither Gabriel nor Gastly could react in time. Gastly was smashed to the ground and Anthony followed up by yelling, "Poison Sting!"
Gastly was hit, and although it didn't manage to do much damage, it kept Gastly on the ground long enough for Anthony to order one more Bubble Beam, which soundly beat Gastly.
"Gastly, return…" Gabriel said, recalling his fallen Pokémon. "Alright, you beat him before, now do it again Cyndaquil!"
"Bubble Beam!" Anthony yelled.
Cyndaquil had barely even come out of his Pokéball when the Bubble Beam it him.
"Wait what? He wasn't even out yet!" Gabriel complained.
"Poison Sting!"
"Cyndaquil, hurry and get up and dodge it!"
Cyndaquil managed to get up in time, yet the Poison Sting hit, and it managed to Poison Cyndaquil.
"Flamethrower!"
"Bubble Beam!"
The two attacks met head on, and they seemed almost perfectly even until Anthony tried the same gamble he used with Houndour, "Jump right up and use Constrict!"
"Smokescreen!"
Cyndaquil let loose the smoke and then jumped up high into the air to avoid Tentacool.
"Quickly use your tentacles to jump into the air! Then Constrict!"
And Tentacool did just that, it jumped into the air, "Quickly use Flamethrower to knock it away!" Gabriel yelled in a panic. Yet all too late. Tentacool had Cyndaquil.
"Now throw him into the ground hard! Then Bubble Beam!"
Tentacool spun in the air and threw Cyndaquil into the ground with all the force it and, before using a Bubble Beam to hit Cyndaquil head on, literally right before Tentacool landed on top of him. The Bubble Beam sent Tentacool high up into the air, and then he landed directly on top of the defeated Cyndaquil.
"Well Gabriel. It looks like I win. Tie up the score board, we're 1-1."
"Shut up, you cheated, you attacked him before he was even out of his Pokéball."
"I never said there were any rules. You simply assumed standard rules were taking hold in that match."
"Yeah but, I didn't know!"
"Quit being a sore loser, now recall your loser Pokémon and let's get going. I'm a man of my word, and since you beat Houndour you can travel with us to Pewter. But only Pewter, no further."
Anthony recalled his Tentacool, and he and his sister began walking northward again.
Gabriel felt his old hatred of Anthony start to take hole again. He recalled Cyndaquil and began to follow Anthony and Nicole.
How could he have been so stupid? If he had been faster with Gastly then he could have beaten Tentacool before he even got the chance to fight Cyndaquil…
Damn his luck. He was going into this first gym with a loss and low morale on his shoulders… not to mention a type disadvantage. Those two had their advantages. Nicole had her Roselia, while Anthony had not only his Tentacool but also his Machop!
All Gabriel had were his Gastly and Cyndaquil… He would have to hope Gastly could win… it was really his only hope…"
And Anthony... oh... Gabriel would get him back, that was for sure. He wouldn't let this embarrassment pass. He looked over towards Anthony and swore to himself that he would beat him, he would never lose to that punk again. He came on this journey to become the best, not to be the second, or third (he looked at Nicole).
Oh he was already anxious to get to his next battle with Anthony, to revel in the victory... He knew Anthony would be talking about this match for a while, that was the type of person he was, always holding things over your head...
Well, Gabriel would certainly have fun slapping that look of his face when he beats him next time...
Well guys, I'm sorry for the absolutely massive delay for this chapter. I got caught up in school, and the procrastinated in the spare time I did have. I'll try to be more efficient in the future. :)
